How the Past Can Change
by Bunny Sailor Moon
Summary: Kaoru, thrown back into the Bakumatsu, meets the Hitokori Battousai and changes the normal course of events, and then some. This story alters the original R.K. story and timeline, so beware if you don't like changes. KK, OOCness. SHOCK! I updated.
1. When the Future meets the Past

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer:  Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!!  :D

AN:  This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samuai X.  It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic.  If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic.  Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

Chapter One

"Oh…Kaoru-chan, you look absolutely breathtaking." Tae cooed as she finished putting combs in Kaoru's elaborate hairstyle. 

"Well, I would hope so Tae, this is the most important day of my entire life," Kaoru replied.

"I know!!!  It's so beautiful and exciting!! I always knew you and Ken-san would tie the knot someday," Tae said.

Kaoru stood up from her position in front of the mirror and grinned at her friend.  "I wish I had your confidence Tae, I'm still worried that baka fiancée of mine is going to back out at the last minute with some 'I'm not worthy' speech," she said with a slightly worried look.  Tae laughed and Kaoru nervously giggled with her.  'Mou! He _better_ not do something like that' Kaoru worried to herself.

"Kaoru-chan!!!" a voice rang out, ending their nervous giggles.  They turned towards the paper screen door, where Megumi was coming into the room while calling out to Kaoru.

"It's almost time Kaoru-chan!! Are you nervous?!?" Megumi asked excitedly.

"Not really Megumi-chan," Kaoru responded.

"HA!" Megumi said her fox ears beginning to show, "you will be tonight, just around bed time!!" 

Kaoru blushed all the way to her toes. "MEGUMI!!" she screeched.

"HOHOHOHOHO," Megumi laughed. Tae joined in, elbowing Kaoru and winking her eye at her.

Kaoru blushed even more.  'That Megumi!!' Kaoru fumed to herself, 'one of these days, I'm going to get her for that comment,' she promised.

"Now, now, Kaoru-chan, I was only teasing you!!  I'm sure Kenshin will have NO TROUBLE calming your bridal nerves." Megumi teased as she started laughing again.

"GET OUTTA HERE MEGUMI, YOU'RE SUCH A PERVERT!!!" Kaoru yelled at the top of her lungs.

Just as Kaoru finished her outburst, the paper screen door slid open again, and there stood Kenshin.  "Is everything ok in here ladies?" he questioned, raising his right eyebrow just a tad at the three women standing in the middle of Kaoru's room with guilty expressions on their faces.

Kaoru blushed.  'Wow, he looks great!!' she thought to herself.  'I don't care what Megumi-chan says, I'm so happy, because today I get to finally fulfill my greatest dream and marry Kenshin.  I'm not going to let her try to spoil this for me.'

"Oh, just, you know, woman stuff, Ken-san," Megumi sung to Kenshin as she and Tae breezed passed him and out of Kaoru's room.  "We'll just leave you two alone for a few minutes," Tae added before pushing Kenshin further into the room and closing the paper screen door behind him. "Don't be too long, the ceremony is starting in less than 10 minutes!" she called through the paper screen door.

Kenshin and Kaoru stood there for a few minutes, just staring at each other.  Finally Kaoru broke the silence.  "Morning, Kenshin" she said barely above a whisper.

"Morning, sweetheart," Kenshin replied, taking a few steps closer to her.

Kaoru blushed at the endearment and looked down at her feet, which were suddenly extremely interesting to her.

"You are so beautiful…" Kenshin continued.

Kaoru looked up at his comment, her eyes shining with love. 

"Do you promise?" she asked.

"Of course I do." He answered.

She smiled and looked down again.  "Ok…" she replied.

Kenshin took the last two steps separating them and gently took Kaoru into his arms.  "This unworthy one was afraid to touch you, that you might not be real.  This all seems like such a wonderful dream," he whispered into her ear.

"Baka," Kaoru said back.

Kenshin laughed and kissed her.  Kaoru kissed him back, and giggled a little when they finally broke apart.  "I love you." She said.

"Aa" Kenshin agreed "And I love you more, my Kaoru.  The ceremony is starting now," he said and then paused to give her another kiss, "I'll see you in a few minutes," he whispered to her before turning and walking out of the room.

Kaoru nervously patted at the dust that wasn't on her bridal kimono and smoothed out her already flawless hair.  She took one last look at her bedroom; reminding her self that things would never be the same again, for now, Kenshin would be sharing her room with her…

Finally she took a deep breath and nervously let it out.  "Ok, its time now," she said to herself as she began to walk towards the paper screen door to begin her new life.

As Kaoru reached out her hand, and touched the paper screen door screen, there was a flash of the brightest of bright lights.  Kaoru pulled back a step shielding her eyes from the brightness.  Kaoru's heart beat frantically as she felt herself being enveloped in the light "WHAT? KENSHIN!!!!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she disappeared in a final burst of light.

Running was heard and then the paper screen door was ripped off of its tracks.  "KAORU!!" Kenshin yelled into the empty room, Sano and Yahiko right behind him and behind them Megumi and Tae.

"Kaoru!!!" he yelled again, frantically searching for her departed body throughout the room, making it appear as if a whirlwind had hit the room.  Discouraged, and helpless, Kenshin fell to his knees, and dropped his head into hands, "KAORU!! **_Where_** are _you_??!!?? Not again!!!! Please!!  NOT…AGAIN!!!" He pleaded to no one in particular.

"SHIIIIIINNNNNNNN!!!" Kaoru heard the end of her frantic scream in the silence of her new surroundings.  Quickly she turned a 360, making sure no one was around her.  Discovering that she was alone, she felt a little better, but she had no idea where she was located.  She assessed that it was now nighttime, and she found herself standing at the top of a very long and wide stairway. Not too far below her, she could see several men in battle stances, their swords drawn, as if waiting for someone to attack, 'but who?' she thought to herself.

That's when she saw, whom these men must have been waiting for.  A blurry figure, moving as quickly as lightening, Kaoru made out of blue and red and shiny flashes of…of metal…off of the moonlight, she realized.  This figure was quickly making its way all the way to the top of the stairs; swordsman after swordsman falling after the blurry figure came into contact with them.  Kaoru's heartbeat quickened, this figure was headed right in her direction.

"Eeep!" she squealed as she ducked behind a tree at the edge of the stairway.

Kaoru covered her mouth with her hand, hoping to stop the sound of her heavy breathing from giving her location away.  This person was a killing machine, and she didn't want to get on their bad side, not to mention, if this killer knew what she had just witnessed, she was sure she would be the next to die.

"You might as well come out.  I can sense you.  Besides, I saw you standing here when I was all the way at the bottom of these stairs," a strangely familiar voice shouted out.

Kaoru couldn't help it, she gasped.  She'd recognize that voice anywhere.  Immediately, she found herself pinned against the very tree she had been seeking to find protection from with a sword at her throat.  Kaoru's eyes widened, "K-K-K-Ken…shin?" she questioned. 


	2. Unanswered Questions

How the Past can be Changed

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer:  Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!!  :D

AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samuai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

Kaoru covered her mouth with her hand, hoping to stop the sound of her heavy breathing from giving her location away.  This person was a killing machine, and she didn't want to get on their bad side…not to mention, if this killer knew what she had just witnessed, she was sure she would be the next to die.

"You might as well come out…I can sense you…besides, I saw you standing here when I was all the way at the bottom of these stairs."  A voice shouted out.

Kaoru couldn't help it…she gasped.  She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

Immediately, she found herself pinned against the very tree she had been seeking to find protection from with a sword at her throat.

Kaoru's eyes widened…"K-K-K-Ken…shin?" she questioned.

Chapter Two

Kenshin's eyes instantly widened in surprise, causing his eyes to turn from yellow to their normal purplish hew, Kaoru noted.  The tightness of his grip on her slackened and he pulled his sword a little away from her throat.  'He doesn't **_exactly_** **_look_** like Kenshin,' she thought.  He definitely had Kenshin's voice, his flaming red hair, his eyes had the ability to change from yellow to purple, and back again, she assumed.  But, he looked so different!!  He looked…like a young version of Kenshin?  'A teenage one?' she questioned in her mind.

"H-h-how do you know my name?!?" he questioned her in a whisper of uncertainty.

Kaoru's eyes looked pained for a moment. "Y-you – you don't know me do you?" she asked him, whispering herself.

"Himura!! Let's get out of here!!" Someone shouted from the stairway.

Kenshin and Kaoru startled, and Kenshin turned his head towards where the voice had come, his face away from Kaoru's so she could see the side of his face.  She gasped again.  "Your scar!!!" she exclaimed.  Reaching her hand up to trace the single line that was bleeding down the side of his face.

Now completely caught off guard, Kenshin turned back to look at her for a second like she was crazy, yet, at the same time questioning what she knew, and then turned back towards the voice, as it yelled again with more urgency.  "Himura!! COME ON!!"

"It's not an X…it's not an X…" Kaoru mumbled to herself over and over as if in a trance, her mind quickly putting two and two together.  She was in the PAST!!  She HAD to be, Kenshin looked so young, he even wore his hair differently in a high ponytail.  She felt her self go numb, her emotions turning off, and depression taking hold, the reality truly sinking in, that she was hitokiri battousai's wife, he didn't know her, and they were stuck in the Bakumatsu!!

"Coming!!" he yelled back to the voice.  Turning back to Kaoru he whispered, "You can explain later, but you are coming with me."  Kenshin then released his hold on her for a moment, re-sheathed his sword, picked Kaoru up, and with her in his arms, jumped back to the stairway where his friends were waiting.

"Who's that?" one of them questioned.

"Don't worry about it," Kenshin replied in a low growl, indicating that he wanted no further questions from the man about it.

"God, Himura, just the other day, you brought that Tomoe woman to the inn after a battle, and now you seem to have picked up another one!!" the guy responded, clearly not taking the hint.

"Tomoe?" Kaoru questioned, snapping out of her shocked stupor as her brows furrowed in worry.  She glanced at Kenshin's face, but it was expressionless, as usual in regards to women, as Kaoru knew all too well.  Her heart began to beat faster, 'Tomoe, is here?' She shook herself violently, trying to shake the feelings of raging jealousy begging to over take all her other emotions.  'I don't want to be jealous,' she said to herself.  'You are in the past, accept it for what it is.' She tried to reason with herself.

"I said that's enough!!" Kenshin growled again, sprinting down the stairs and back to where ever it was that he had come from.  Kaoru knew though, that they must be on their way to Kenshin's clan's hideout.

They arrived shortly at an inn in what Kaoru figured must be Kyoto, but during the bakumatsu era.  She shivered as Kenshin set her down just inside the door, keeping one hand firmly around her arm, as if she would run away or disappear if he let go of her.

"You have another lady for me to care for Himura-san?" a woman questioned.

"NO." Kenshin said abruptly.

The woman quirked her eyebrow at Kenshin, "I told you the rules before, Himura-san."  She stated.

"I know…don't be concerned, I'm not breaking the rules." He replied.

She smiled knowingly at him.  "Ok, Himura-san, I will trust you on this one."  She said winking at Kaoru.  Kaoru wondered why on Earth the woman would be winking at her?  'Does she know something I don't?'  Kaoru wondered.

Kenshin sort-of smiled at her.  Then he turned back to Kaoru, "follow me." He said pulling her towards a hallway.

"Yes." Kaoru said allowing Kenshin to drag her to what she assumed must be his room at the inn.

'She looks so frightened' Kenshin thought, 'Heh, I would be too, if I was dragged away by the most feared assassin in Japan.  I doubt she has any idea of how much she has rattled me.  How does she know my name?  No woman knows my name, well except Tomoe now, I wonder who this woman is?  She appears out of nowhere wearing a bridal kimono of all things.  I bet the innkeeper thinks I just married this woman myself.  This must have been her wedding day, but then, where is her husband?  And what was she doing on the stairway in the middle of the night? Why does she act as though she knows me? Is she some sort of spy or something?' Kenshin glanced back at her once again to take in if she might be strong enough to be a swordsman or ninja of some sort. 'Maybe.  It appears that she is in good condition, and she knew my name, but I saw a strange sort of recognition on her face, and she looked genuinely surprised that I didn't know her.  It's weird, but I feel some sort of connection to her. I don't know if it's a good connection or a bad one, but there's a connection.  I don't even know if she's sane or not, but I think I want to get to know this woman a little better.  It's time for some answers. Frightened to death or not, she's giving me some answers as soon as we get to my room' he decided, nodding his head in affirmation to no one in particular.

Kaoru saw Kenshin nod his head and wondered what he was thinking.  'He probably just decided what he's going to do to me,' she mused.  'This is a totally different person than the Kenshin that I know and love,' she reminded herself.  'Well, at least he's not holding a sword to my throat anymore.  Of all the things I never thought I would see in my entire life, that would have been number one, my sweet Kenshin with a sword to my throat…' she thought.  Kaoru made a muffled sniffling sound at the pain of the shock of all that had happened to her.  She was going to be married, she was finally going to have Kenshin, and now…  And now…she sniffed again, trying to hold back the tears as Kenshin finally opened a paper screen door and led her into a room.

Kenshin led Kaoru into the room and guided her to sit in front of him as he sat down.  As if out of habit, Kenshin sat with one knee up and one hand on his sword.  Kaoru recognized the position and smiled, a very sad smile.  She found a strange sense of comfort knowing that Kenshin wasn't ALL that different, even way back when.

"Why are you smiling like that?" he gruffly questioned her.

Startled at his question, Kaoru slightly jumped.  "Ah…well, um…because of the way you are sitting," she finally answered honestly.

"How is that?" he questioned her again.

"Well, you have your hand on your sword, propped against, your side…and one knee up, and you are leaning against something.  You always sit like that," she blushed.  'Kaoru no baka!!' She yelled at herself.  'Now he's going to have a million more questions.'

Kenshin frowned.  'What is it with this girl?' he wondered, even more shaken up than before.  "How do you know that?" he asked.

"I…I…well, you see…I," Kaoru was at a loss for what to say to him.  'Well, you see, Kenshin, I'm your future wife, and you know, we've lived together for a couple of years now,' she thought in her head. 'Sure, he'll believe that!!'

'Enough of this, first I need to know the basics, name, age, why she's wearing a wedding kimono!' Kenshin said to himself as he watched the woman in front of him fumble for an answer to his question.  "Ok, wait, let's start from the beginning then.  Who are you, and how do you know who I am?  Why did you expect me to know you, and for that matter, how do you know so much about me?" he asked her.

Kaoru's eyes widened at his bombardment of questions.  "Well, my name is…Him-, I mean, well, I'm still Kamiya Kaoru actually." She replied sadly.  'I didn't even make it to the ceremony' she remembered to herself.

Kenshin raised his right eyebrow at her.  'Still?' he wondered at her wording.  

Kaoru almost cried remembering how only a couple of hours ago, she had received the exact same look, from HER Kenshin, back home…at her dojo, "in the future…" she whispered to herself.

"WHAT?" Kenshin asked, sitting up straighter and moving towards Kaoru.  He was now feeling completely emotionally rattled over this strange girl.  "Did you just say 'in the future'?" he asked Kaoru.

"What?" Kaoru questioned back "I said that out loud?"

"What about the future?" Kenshin asked her.

'Change the subject and fast!' Kaoru's mind screamed to her.  "Oh, nothing, Kenshin.  Nothing about the future, I don't know anything about the future.  So my turn, uh…who's Tomoe?"  Kaoru asked him.

Once again, this woman and her knowledge of him took Kenshin aback. His eyes narrowed 'why does she want to know about Tomoe?  Is she here because of something to do with Tomoe?' he wondered. "Tomoe?  She was drunk in the street the other night, and like you, she saw me killing some people.  She collapsed, so I brought her here.  It was raining and I was afraid that she would die.  I should have killed her for what she saw, but like you, for some reason I didn't." Kenshin explained aloud.

"Oh…good" Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief.  'So they aren't married yet.'  She thought.  'Good at least I won't have to see Kenshin going around kissing someone else, or sleeping with someone else.  That would just break my heart. I know they are supposed to be together, but I would never have wanted to see them together, not when I love him as I do.'

"Why?" he asked.

"Oh…nothing, nothing at all," Kaoru said blushing again.

Kenshin narrowed his eyes at her, becoming angry that she wasn't telling him everything she knew.  'She's going to tell me everything before I go to sleep tonight, so help me God,' he promised to himself.

"Fine. It's my turn…why are you wearing a wedding kimono?" he asked her.

Kaoru looked down at herself.  Then she absently patted her hair, realizing the combs were still there and everything.  She looked up at Kenshin, 'Oh God, she's going to cry,' Kenshin thought, just as Kaoru burst into tears.  If there was one thing that he couldn't handle, it was a woman's tears.  Not that he had seen many women cry first hand like this in his life, but it made him nervous, and he didn't like the feeling.  Not knowing what else he could do, he moved over to her and hesitantly wrapped his arms around her slight frame.

"Oh Kenshin!!" Kaoru exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around him and cried onto his chest, not caring that he wasn't her Kenshin. He was there, and for some reason, offering his shoulder to cry on.


	3. Somethings Never Change

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer:  Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!!  :D

AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samuai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

  


"Why?" he asked.

"Oh…nothing…nothing at all." Kaoru said blushing again.

Kenshin narrowed his eyes at her, becoming angry that she wasn't telling him everything she knew. 'She's going to tell me everything before I go to sleep tonight, so help me God' he promised to himself.

"Fine. It's my turn…why are you wearing a wedding kimono?" he asked her.

Kaoru looked down at herself. Then she absently patted her hair, realizing the combs were still there and everything. She looked up at Kenshin…'Oh God, she's going to cry' Kenshin thought, just as Kaoru burst into tears.

  


Chapter Three

Kaoru was staring blankly at the ceiling.  She blinked here and there, but, she seemed lost in her thoughts, and tortured by them at the same time, Kenshin noted peering over her the next morning.  'I wonder what she is thinking about?  Probably her fiancée…' he lamented, remembering her tears from last night, and then winced at the thought.  She had stirred up all sorts of emotions inside of him since her sudden appearance the night before, and the idea that she belonged to someone else didn't sit to well with him at all.  'Why do I care though?'  He chided himself.  'She's this crazy woman who appeared out of nowhere, and acts as if she's known me my whole life, acts as if she knows what my life will be like, I try to get some information from her and she bursts into tears and cries herself to sleep…in my arms.' Kenshin noted smugly. Deciding he had seen her blink at the ceiling enough for one day, he decided to break the silence.  "Good morning Kaoru" he said, jarring Kaoru out of her thoughts.

Kaoru turned her head to where Kenshin was kneeling beside her futon.  She knew he had been observing her for sometime, but she had been trying with all of her life force to somehow zap herself BACK to the future.  Ok, ok, so Kenshin was a total babe when he was younger, and it was nice in a weird and twisted way to have a glimpse of what he was like during the war, but this was not HER time to be with him, and she knew it.  The last thing she wanted was to witness her one and only falling in love with another woman, and even worse, she really didn't want to see him killing more people.  Kaoru sighed.  "Good morning…Kenshin" she whispered back.

For some unknown reason, Kenshin felt the need to be close to her.  Maybe it was because she appeared to be hurting, and misery likes company, he wasn't sure really, but he scooted closer and sat himself on the futon where Kaoru was laying.  Kaoru watched his movements with nervousness.  "Kaoru…" Kenshin said taking one of her hands into both of his "I…think that I would like to help you if I can." He said softly.

Kaoru sighed a sad smile.  "Oh Kenshin, I should have known you wouldn't have been so different, you HAVE always been like this haven't you?" Kaoru asked talking to herself.

'What does she mean by "always been like this?"  I really need to know what she means when she says things like that.' He thought, and then for some reason blurted "Are you crazy?" 

Kaoru had to laugh, despite her slight depression over her situation.  "You know what, Kenshin, I think I might be." She answered him and smiled up at him.

Kenshin half smiled to her.  'She's pretty cute when she laughs,' he thought.  "Kaoru, I don't know why you always talk like that…it's making me nervous, and I somehow feel that you will tell me if I ask you enough times…why do you know so much about me…really…why?" he finally got out what he had really been trying to ask.

Kaoru's eyes hazed over for a minute…"Kenshin…I'm sorry, but I can't tell you." Kaoru said sadly.

"Why not?" he challenged pulling his hands away and glaring down at her.

Kaoru frowned.  'He's so upset.  I've really messed things up by being here haven't I?  I want to go home! I want to be with my Kenshin!! I can't stand seeing him look at me like that…untrusting and confused.' "I can't tell you that either." Kaoru said softly.

Kenshin growled at her, obviously upset that she refused to tell him. "Even if it meant your life?" he asked her darkly.

Kaoru looked up into his now yellow eyes, surprised beyond belief that he had threatened her, even after being so kind just moments ago.  'It's almost as if…he is two different people…' she thought.  Then answered boldly, "yes, Kenshin, even if you would kill me over it.  It's not my place to say anything, and I won't."

Looking away from her, he growled out his next question.  "Fine, at least tell me how you ended up on the stairway last night in a wedding kimono," he demanded.

Remembering the mysterious bright light, Kaoru frowned.  She shook her head "I honestly don't know, Kenshin. I was in my bedroom, and I was about to go outside to where the wedding ceremony was to be held, and as I reached the paper screen door, this bright light enveloped me and the next thing I knew…I was standing on the stairway, and you were coming at me full speed."

Kaoru observed Kenshin's profile and noticed his frown deepening.  'This isn't the answer he was expecting I guess,' Kaoru told herself, 'well, at least it's the truth.'

Still frowning, Kenshin turned back towards Kaoru and leaned in closer to her, as if trying to peer into the truth of her heart by looking deeply and closely enough into her eyes.  Kaoru held her breath…and leaning in closer herself, trying to peer into the young assassin's heart.  Kaoru saw…traces of affection?  This puzzled her greatly, 'Kenshin seems like such a different person in the past…could his past self really like me at all?  Interesting…' she noted. She also saw, curiosity, and caution in his eyes. 'I wonder what this means,' she thought 'what's going to happen if I'm stuck here?'   

Kenshin saw sadness, regret, hope, and above all other things, love.  He blinked a few times in shock, Kaoru LOVED him?  'No way, that's impossible!! We just met, and she was supposed to be married yesterday!!  I must be wrong.' he concluded. 'There is no way that this woman loves me, it must just be the reflection of the sunlight or something.'  Breaking their eye contact, Kenshin leaned in a little closer, observing every part of her face…her fluffy bangs, her beautiful eyebrows…her little ears…her cute nose…her pink lips…he leaned in closer as if he was about to kiss her.

Kaoru's eyes widened as Kenshin leaned even closer to her while observing her lips, she could feel his hot breath, on her own lips, and unconsciously licked her lips in expectation.  'Oh God!! Is he going to kiss me?' she wondered.  'No, that can't be, that's impossible…isn't it?  Why would he want to kiss me?  What should I do if he does?' she asked herself frantically.

"Good morning Himura-san!!" called a voice from the doorway as the paper screen door slid open, revealing a strikingly beautiful woman.  Kenshin and Kaoru jumped a mile apart, both turning their heads towards the doorway.

"Tomoe…" Kenshin said startled from his trancelike state of Kaoru and her lips.

Kaoru's eyes bugged out of their sockets.  'THIS is Tomoe!! Oh God!! How could Kenshin ever love me after being married to her?  She's so beautiful, and graceful!!' she thought, covering her face in embarrassment.

Tomoe stopped dead in her tracks, taking in the scene in front of her.  'What?'  Her mind screamed out to her, 'did Himura-san get married last night?!?' she wondered. She scowled at the woman sitting on the futon staring back at her with a shocked expression.  'I suppose this ruins my revenge.  How can I have him killed when he has a wife hanging around here?' she wondered to herself. 'It's just as well, that he's married, I was starting to like him.' She thought to herself.  Then remembering herself, Tomoe placed a pleasant smile on her face.  "I'm sorry, for disturbing you and your bride Himura-san." She said backing out of the room as gracefully as she had entered.

Kaoru gasped, and stood from her position holding out her arm, her palm facing Tomoe, fingers spread.  "Wait!!" she yelled.  

Tomoe stopped in her retreat and looked up at Himura-san's new wife.

"Tomoe-san!! It's not true, I'm not the battousai's bride!" Kaoru said trying to explain.  She couldn't say Himura-san because that would be a lie, she **_is_** his bride, but **_her_** Kenshin was the **_x_**-assassin, so in a way the title "battousai" no longer belonged to her future husband. 'Oh, God,' she thought, 'this is getting more and more complicated, if Kenshin never marries Tomoe, will he still be my wonderful rurouni?' she wondered to herself.

Tomoe paused, and quirked an eyebrow at Kenshin, wondering what the he would have to say about what this woman just said.

'Battousai?'  Kenshin questioned to himself.  'How does she know that? Why did she say battousai when she calls me by my real name?  No, matter, if everyone thinks that Kaoru is my bride, they will let her stay here, with me.  I can't let word get out that she isn't married to me.  She will be safe if she can stay in my room, and then I can help her.'  "Actually Tomoe, this is my fiancée, we are supposed to be married later today." Kenshin smoothly covered to Tomoe, and glared at Kaoru, silently telling her not to deny it.

_"Actually Tomoe, this is my fiancée, we are supposed to be married later today."  _Kenshin's announcement rang through Kaoru's ears. Shocked, she looked at Kenshin. 'IS he OUT of his mind?  He is…' she noted to herself, seeing the look of warning from him.

"Many congratulations to you both." Tomoe answered, just as pleasantly and left the room, closing the paper screen door behind her.

"KENSHIN no BAKA!!" Kaoru exploded, beaming him over the head with the closest object, which just happened to be a rather large book.

Kenshin grabbed Kaoru's arm as it retracted from hitting his head, "Kaoru, please don't hit me again." He requested in a rather calm voice.

Kaoru looked down at Kenshin's arm grasping her own, 'what? He's not ororororororoing?' she wondered in utter amazement.  Then forgetting herself, she began her tirade, "HA!!  HA-HA!!  I knew it!!!  I knew it. I knew it. I knew it!!!" she exclaimed yanking her arm out of Kenshin's grip as she tossed the book aside and threw her arms up in triumph. "You are so in for it when I get home Kenshin!!!" she continued and gestured wildly to the wall, "I knew all that ORO business was pretend!! There was no way the x-hitokiri battousai, the best swordsman in all of Japan, could ever **_really_** be hurt by a little girl like me. HA!! HA-HA!!  Even if I **_am_** the assistant master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, it's no match for Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu!!  HA!!" Kaoru finished boasting to the wall, and then beamed down at Kenshin.

Kenshin was glaring at her.  He had just learned a few things about his "fiancée" that he was sure she didn't want him to know, but now more than ever he wanted answers.

"What's the matter Kenshin?" she questioned.

"Kaoru, are you **_aware_** that you just said all of that **_aloud_**?"  Kenshin growled to her, noticeably upset.

Frustrated Kaoru exploded, "Mou!! Kenshin!!  What are you talking about?"

"You said something along the lines of…I knew it…you are so in for it when I get home Kenshin…" he paused, noting her shocked face, then continued, "I knew all that oro business was fake.  There is no way the great x-hitokiri battousai, the best swordsman in Japan could ever **_really_** be hurt by a little girl like me, then you proceeded to say my swordsman technique, AND your own."  He narrowed his eyes at her, "**_nobody,_** besides, Hiko-sama knows the name of my technique.  You have to tell me how you know immediately, or else." He demanded grabbing her arm tightly so she could not run off.  "What exactly did you mean by, when I get home you are so in for it Kenshin?" He said, more than asked in an even more threatening tone.

Kaoru's face paled as she winced at the hold Kenshin had on her arm.  'Oh God, what have I done?' she asked herself.

  


AN:  Ok, so what do you think about this chapter minna-san?  Do you like where I'm going with this or does it reek of badness?  Be nice about it, but lemme know ok?

BTW:  All of you reading my other story "Always there for Me" I am writing the next chapter, so don't think I've stopped on that story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D


	4. A Peek at My Future

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer:  Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!!  :D

AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samuai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

  


"What's the matter Kenshin?" she questioned.

"Kaoru, are you **_aware_** that you just said all of that **_aloud_**?"  Kenshin growled to her, noticeably upset.

Frustrated Kaoru exploded, "Mou!! Kenshin!!  What are you talking about?"

"You said something along the lines of…I knew it…you are so in for it when I get home Kenshin…" he paused, noting her shocked face, then continued, "I knew all that oro business was fake.  There is no way the great x-hitokiri battousai, the best swordsman in Japan could ever **_really_** be hurt by a little girl like me, then you proceeded to say my swordsman technique, AND your own."  He narrowed his eyes at her, "**_nobody,_** besides, Hiko-sama knows the name of my technique.  You have to tell me how you know immediately, or else." He demanded grabbing her arm tightly so she could not run off.  "What exactly did you mean by, when I get home you are so in for it Kenshin?" He said, more than asked in an even more threatening tone.

Kaoru's face paled as she winced at the hold Kenshin had on her arm.  'Oh God, what have I done?' she asked herself.

  


Chapter Four

Kenshin's frowned deepened even further as he started putting the pieces of the puzzle together.  "Ok, so let's see here now.  You obviously know me…I would say quite well. You know my assassin name, you know my swordsman technique, previously, you had mentioned something about the future…and if I remember correctly you said something about my scar not being an x…" Kenshin trailed off in thought.  Then he looked up into Kaoru's pale face once again and stated, "Now, Kaoru, you have some serious explaining to do." 

Kaoru paled even more.  'OH God!! Now what do I do?  I won't put it past him to kill me over this, in the state he's in…and I so very badly want to go home and marry my Kenshin and have lots of children.  Should I really tell him…should I tell him about US?  Should I tell him about Tomoe?  Should I tell him about the Meiji, and about him being a rurouni for 10 years?  I don't think this is a good idea.' She thought before saying, "Kenshin, are you sure you really want to know?  I don't think it's a good idea for me to tell you the things I know…about…your future." She finished lamely.

Once again, Kaoru shocked Kenshin beyond his wildest imagination.  "So let me get this straight, you're saying that you know what my future will be?" he asked her.  "Are you some kind of witch?" he added.

Kaoru glared at him.  "I'm not a witch!" she yelled to his face.

Kenshin loosened his grip a bit on her arm.  "Then how do you know about my future?" he asked her.

Kaoru frowned, and sadly looked at the ground, a tear rolling out of her eye.  "Because…I'm from the future." She answered.

"WHAT?" Kenshin asked, then making the connective he said a bit more calmly, "you mean…the bright white light?"

Kaoru looked back up, wryly smiled at him, and nodded.

Kenshin felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of him.  'I will live through this war!' he thought happily, 'and I must turn out ok to know someone like Kaoru!' "Kaoru…how do you know about my future then?  Do you know me?  What's our relationship?" Kenshin said, beginning to bombard her with questions.

'I can't tell him about us.  I can't tell him about us.' She began chanting to herself in her head.  "Well, um, actually, you're my…um…you're my best friend Kenshin!!" she said with forced enthusiasm.  'Well, at least it's partly the truth,' she consoled to herself for her dishonesty.

Kenshin quirked his eyebrow at her.  'I feel like she's not telling me the whole truth.' He thought. "How did I get to be your best friend?  How did you meet me? When and where did we meet?" he probed.  'Maybe if I ask enough questions, it will slip out.' He hoped.

Kaoru's eyes got a little glossy, Kenshin noted.  'I wonder if I was supposed to marry her? I wouldn't be surprised.  I've felt a deep connection to her since I found her.' He thought.

"Well, one day I was looking for this man who had been killing people around the city, and claiming that he was trained at my dojo, bringing a great disgrace to my school…I lost all my students…" Kaoru began.

"How old were you then?" Kenshin interrupted.

"Ah…17." Kaoru answered.

Kenshin's eyes bugged out.  'I had no idea she was so old.' He thought. "How long ago was that?" he asked her.

"2 years ago…" she said.

"What!!?? You're older than me!!" he exclaimed.

"Kenshin no baka!! You are 11 years older than me!!  I'm most certainly not older than you are." Kaoru rolled her eyes.

Kenshin rolled his eyes back, feeling better than he ever had in his entire life. "In case you weren't aware, Kaoru, I happen to be 15 years old right now."

Kaoru blushed.  "Ah, I knew that, but Kenshin, why did you tell Tomoe-san that we were getting married?" she asked changing the subject.

To Kaoru's delight, Kenshin blushed.  "Well, I was thinking that if everyone thought we were married that they would let you stay with me here…in my room" Kenshin finished in a whisper.

"Kenshin!!  You pervert!!" Kaoru exploded.

"Now, now!!  I didn't mean it like THAT Kaoru" Kenshin explained, blocking the book that was headed for his head.

"Sure you didn't!! I know you in the future Kenshin don't you forget that!!" Kaoru yelled.

Kenshin blushed even harder.  'Now, I have to wonder just how well, she does know me in the future,' Kenshin wondered feeling like he was on top of the world.  "Am I really like that in the future?" he asked her.

Kaoru blushed furiously.  "Well, actually Kenshin –"

"Himura!!  We have a meeting with Katsura-sama right now, let's go!!!" a voice yelled through the paper screen door.

"Coming!!" Kenshin called back and headed towards the door.  "We will continue this conversation later, Kaoru…please stay here. I would hate if anything bad happened to my future best friend." He grinned his rurouni grin at her and opened the screen paper door, stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Kaoru stood there dumbfounded for a moment.  She blinked a few times.  'Did Kenshin just grin at me?' she asked herself.  Then she rubbed her eyes. 'Was I seeing things?  Could the knowledge that he will live through this and be my friend really make him that happy?' she wondered.

  


~ Meanwhile ~

As Tomoe slid the paper screen door to Himura-san's room closed, she heard his bride yelling "Kenshin no BAKA!!" and Tomoe suppressed a giggle.  Although there was a part of her, hidden somewhere that was horribly disappointed that she wasn't the one to bring happiness into the assassin's life, she knew things were better this way.  For one thing, she had a vendetta against Himura Kenshin, and it would have caused great problems for her had she gotten herself too attached to him on a romantic level.  Not to mention that the woman he was with…they made such a cute couple.  Tomoe sighed, thinking of her own fiancée, who was dead, and that it was all Himura's fault.  Himura-san needed to be removed from the Earth as far as Tomoe was concerned.  He was nothing more than a cold-hearted killer…or at least that's what she tried to tell herself to make herself feel better over her revengeful actions.  Tomoe began to walk down the hallway to go help in the kitchen to begin preparing lunch.  It had been Himura's absence at the breakfast table that had made her want to check on him…and now that he had someone else to take care of him…'take Care of him?  What am I thinking?'  She asked herself.  'Is it too late for me?  Have I already grown too attached to my fiancée's killer to exact my revenge on him?  Do I really want no harm to come to him, even if I can't be with him?' she wondered.  Tomoe sighed to herself, "I will think more about this later" she uttered under her breath as she entered the kitchen and received her instructions for preparing lunch.

  


Kenshin suppressed a yawn.  He was finding this meeting with Katsura-sama, to be quite long and boring.  He found his thoughts drifting back to Kaoru.  He sure wished he could be with her instead of here.  She was so light hearted, full of spirit and happy.  Always calling him names…baka, pervert...Kenshin blushed.  He wanted to know everything about her, all her secrets, from the future or not, really HIS fiancée or not, he didn't care; he had to spend as much time as possible with this amazing woman as he could.  So beautiful and innocent, these things were a rare find in these days.  Kenshin smiled a dreamy smile, 'maybe that's because she was from the future…maybe she lives in a time of peace…she's honest, even though she knew I was worried that she might be crazy.  But, why is she here? What if she has to stay here forever?  I wonder if maybe she would consider marring me?'  He wondered.  'No, I am too young for her, and I am stained from all the blood I have spilled.'  Kenshin snorted. 'I probably feel the same way about her in the future, if she's really telling me the truth about all this.'  Kenshin frowned.  'Is that his fate in the future?  To fall in love with a younger girl and feel so unworthy of her that he never admits his feelings for her?  Was she going to marry someone else and THAT'S why she was sent into the past? To meet me…because, I'm destined to be with her?  Is that it?'  Kenshin couldn't help but wonder.  

"Himura, you seem rather distant today." Katsura commented to him.

Kenshin bowed politely.  "I'm sorry Katsura-sama, I have a lot on my mind today."

Katsura smiled.  "Well, that's a change.  Is it a woman?" he asked.

"Yeah!!" one of the other men there said "Himura here, brought home a lady last night dressed in a bridal kimono!!  He got married!!  She's a fiery little tart too, I heard her yelling at him this morning." 

Kenshin's eyes took on a yellow hue and he growled to the man "Don't talk about Kaoru that way."

"Now, now, battousai, I didn't mean any harm." The man said, backing down immediately.

"Be careful, Himura-san, that you do not let your life be placed in danger from the distractions women can cause in your life." Katsura wisely advised.

"Yes." Kenshin said.  'But what a nice distraction,' he thought, and began paying attention to Katsura's latest plans.

  


"Mou!" Kaoru said out loud, stomping her foot on the ground in frustration after hours of trying to concentrate her life force on getting home and failing utterly.  She frowned.  'Enough waiting for Kenshin in this room, I'm tired of wearing this wedding kimono and I'm tired of trying to get home.  I'm going to find some clothes to change into and' Kaoru paused as her stomach growled, 'get some food in my stomach!!  That jerk!!  Leaving me here to starve to death!!' she fumed.

Kaoru marched to the paper screen door with determination in her eyes and thrust it open, only to walk right into someone.

"Ah!!"  Kaoru and the other person yelped as they fell onto the hallway floor.  Kaoru, using her built in swordsmen reflexes twisted to the side and somehow ended up on her feet.

"I'm sorry…" she began "…Tomoe-san!!"  She exclaimed recognizing the beautiful woman, looking rather funny, sprawled on the hallway floor.

Kaoru giggled.  Tomoe looked up at her, and couldn't help giggling herself at the funny situation.  Kaoru offered her hand to help the woman up.  "I'm terribly sorry Tomoe-san, I did not see you.  I'm so tired of wearing these clothes and I'm so starving that was the only thing I could think of." She explained.

Tomoe smiled. "You don't have any clothes to change into and you haven't eaten all day?" Tomoe asked feeling quite sorry for the poor bride.

Kaoru pouted.  "No!! That BAKA Kenshin told me not to leave the room, and he's been gone for hours at his stupid meeting!! Mou!!" she exclaimed.

Tomoe laughed.  "What's your name?" she asked.

"Ah, you can call me Kaoru" Kaoru replied.

Tomoe smiled, a very heartfelt smile.  'I really like this girl' she thought to herself, 'she's so spirited and full of life…the exact opposite of Himura-san who brings about nothing but death and pain…no wonder he is attracted to her…no wonder I like her,' she added to herself.  "Come with me Kaoru-chan, I will let you borrow something of mine, and I can get you some food, I help out with the upkeep around here, and have access to the kitchen."

Kaoru threw her arms around the other woman "Oh Tomoe-san!!  Thank you so much!! It was so fortunate for me to have ran into you!!!" Kaoru gushed.

Tomoe giggled and returned Kaoru's hug.  "Oh, Kaoru-chan, you are so sweet, you have made this depressed woman happy and smiling again, and for that I thank you very much!!" Tomoe said.  Then she took her hand and they ran down the hall giggling like school girls over the outfit Tomoe was going to lend Kaoru that she was sure would look so cute on her.

On his way back to his room, Kenshin witnessed the scene between Kaoru and Tomoe and smiled.  He was very happy that Kaoru had been able to cheer Tomoe, who had seemed so terribly sad.  Disappointed that he wouldn't see Kaoru for a few hours, he slightly dragged his last few steps into room, but he felt grateful that he at least knew where she would be, and that she would be ok.

  


AN:  Well, that's it for chapter 4.  I'm going to start on chapter 5 right now, but I doubt I will have it finished until tomorrow, or the next day, depending on when I have the time to work on it.

Please leave me some feedback, it's much appreciated.  It's good comments that make me want to write more, all that much sooner ;D

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D


	5. Unusual Relationships

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

**------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Kaoru threw her arms around the other woman "Oh Tomoe-san!! Thank you so much!! It was so fortunate for me to have ran into you!!!" Kaoru gushed.

Tomoe giggled and returned Kaoru's hug. "Oh, Kaoru-chan, you are so sweet, you have made this depressed woman happy and smiling again, and for that I thank you very much!!" Tomoe said. Then she took her hand and they ran down the hall giggling like school girls over the outfit Tomoe was going to lend Kaoru that she was sure would look so cute on her.

On his way back to his room, Kenshin witnessed the scene between Kaoru and Tomoe and smiled. He was very happy that Kaoru had been able to cheer Tomoe, who had seemed so terribly sad. Disappointed that he wouldn't see Kaoru for a few hours, he slightly dragged his last few steps into room, but he felt grateful that he at least knew where she would be, and that she would be ok.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Five

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaoru stepped from behind the changing screen in Tomoe's room "Well, Tomoe-chan, how do I look?" she asked her new friend.

Tomoe turned from where she seemed to be writing something in some type of journal to inspect how Kaoru looked in one of her most favorite kimonos. She smiled at her cheerful companion. "Oh, Kaoru-chan!! You look just as cute as I thought you would in that kimono!! The blue butterflies really bring out your eye color!!" Tomoe complemented her.

Kaoru squealed excitedly. "This is so much fun Tomoe-chan!! I've never done anything like this with a girl friend before!!" she confided.

"Really?" Tomoe questioned.

"Yeah, really, my mother died when I was very young, and I've had a lot of responsibilities since then…I'm also the assistant master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu and run my family's dojo, so I'm some what of a tomboy." Kaoru offered.

"Wow!! You're a swordswoman?" Tomoe asked.

Kaoru smiled. "Yeah, I am…pretty silly right?" she giggled.

Tomoe giggled too. "Actually, I think that's really good. You know how to defend yourself."

Kaoru's smiled disappeared. 'No, not really…Kenshin is always saving my pathetic butt in the future,' she thought. 'Mou!! I'm not a good swordswoman at all!!! Always being captured…I hope he's not too worried about me back in the future…oh Kenshin…' Kaoru let out a sigh.

Tomoe noticed how Kaoru's face fell, and decided not to press. "So, tell me how you first met Himura-san" Tomoe said.

Kaoru's face brightened again.  "Well, um," she began, and then paused, 'what do I say to her?' Kaoru asked herself.  'I suppose the truth can't hurt…I'll just leave out the location, and our ages and stuff like that.' She decided before continuing, "a couple of years ago, there was this horrible rumor going around about my dojo…and I was determined to kill the one who had been spreading this rumor…so I was walking around the streets at night to try to find this person killing in the name of my dojo. When I found the horrible beast spreading these rumors, he injured my hand, and almost killed me, but Kenshin came out of no-where with his God-like speed and saved me.' Kaoru paused to smile at the memory. "He carried me back to my dojo and then the next day helped me by defeating the bullies. I asked him if he would like to stay with me and he said that he would…at least that's the summarized version." Kaoru finished.

Tomoe smiled. "So how did you end up getting engaged?" she asked Kaoru.

'Mou!! Now what!! There is NO WAY I can tell her about that. It simply doesn't fit in with this era!!' Kaoru's stomach growled…she smiled…"Ah, Tomoe-chan, I wish I could tell you, it's a wonderful story, but my stomach is very upset with me right now and if I don't eat something I'm going to faint." Kaoru complained.

Tomoe giggled. "I'm sorry Kaoru-chan!! I completely forgot that you have not eaten anything yet." Tomoe got up and led the way to the kitchen where Kaoru stuffed her face, while making appreciative noises.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Quietly, in the hopes to not wake Kenshin, Kaoru slid open the paper screen door of "their" room. Kenshin was, as always leaned against the wall with one leg and one arm, supporting his sword, sleeping soundlessly. Kaoru smiled lovingly at him before changing into the extra nightclothes that Tomoe had lent her. 'I have to avoid talking with Kenshin' she told herself 'if I tell him anymore about the future it could very well drastically change, and not necessarily for the better…already Tomoe is telling me what a cute couple we make and how happy she knows we will be. I was quite shocked to hear her story, of her fiancée that was killed, I never knew that Tomoe had been engaged before she was married to Kenshin…this puzzled me greatly, but they were things of the past, that I had chosen in the future to not know about, and now, here I am…learning all about the past…first hand, and becoming a part of it myself. Mou!! This is terrible!! I'm supposed to be with Kenshin now, I'm supposed to be enjoying my honeymoon right now…instead I'm stuck here in the past…true, I have Kenshin here too, but…it's not the same.' Kaoru frowned. She slipped under the covers on the futon and dozed off into a troubled sleep.

Kenshin heard Kaoru's deep steady breathing, indicating that she was sleeping and slipped out the window to meet with the others to complete the mission given to them by Katsura-sama earlier that day.

Kenshin blocked all thoughts of Kaoru from his mind as once again, he completed his nightly tasks. On his way back to the inn, his scar began bleeding again and absently he wiped the blood away. Kenshin allowed his thoughts to return back to Kaoru, wondering what she would say if she knew he had been out for the last hour completing his assigned assassinations…somehow, he didn't think that she would approve. Kenshin sighed, and wished that Kaoru really was his wife…she would be able to erase all these bad times for him, and remind him of what he is fighting for…Katsura had mentioned something about a wife acting as a sheath…Kenshin wished that Kaoru would be his sheath for him.

Quietly and with practiced skill, Kenshin re-entered his room by the window, and upon setting down his feet, he was plummeted onto the floor. 

"Kaoru?" he questioned returning her hug.

"Oh Kenshin!!" she exclaimed. "I was so worried about you!!" she explained. 

Kenshin couldn't help it, he grinned. 'I didn't know she cared THAT much…after all, she knows who I am,' he thought. "Kaoru, there is no need for you to worry about me…remember…the greatest swordsman in Japan speech you gave me earlier today?" he asked her, trying to be comforting.

Kaoru was crying onto his gi, holding on to him for dear life. "No, Kenshin, it's so much worse when I see it first hand!!" she sobbed to him.

"Now, now…" Kenshin said patting her hair…'I suppose we're going to have another night where she cries herself to sleep in my arms' he thought. "No need to worry Kaoru…you know, you know me in the future right? So that means that I live through all this right?" he said trying to calm her.

Kaoru sniffled. "Well, I suppose your right Kenshin, but I can't help but worry, and me just being here could be changing the future!! I know already of some changes that have occurred from me being here with you…in this time." She said worriedly.

"And what would those changes be?" Kenshin asked his curiosity once again aroused.

Kaoru lifted herself up slightly from her position on top of Kenshin, propping up her upper body with her arms on either side of his head and shook her own head. "No, Kenshin…there is no way that I'm going to tell you." Kaoru replied. 'Yeah, like I'm going to tell him that he shouldn't like me right now because he's supposed to marry Tomoe, only to kill the poor woman…besides…I have an inclining that there was something a lot deeper than just that after hearing about Tomoe's dead fiancée. I'm not going to place either of them in danger of hurting each other…even if it means I don't get to meet and marry Kenshin in the future' Kaoru mentally noted to herself. Then she frowned…'not ever knowing Kenshin?' She sighed, "'I'm too nice,' she thought, beginning to feel somewhat depressed.

"Are you thinking about your real fiancée again?" Kenshin asked Kaoru, noticing the frown and the long sigh.

Kaoru's eyes met back with Kenshin's. "Kenshin…" she began "please promise me that no matter what changes might happen from me being here right now…that you will be walking at night in the streets of Tokyo on April 22, 1878." Kaoru requested.

Kenshin smiled knowingly at Kaoru. "Is that how we first met Kaoru?" he asked her.

Kaoru smiled back. "Yes, that's where we first met Kenshin." Kaoru replied.

"Well then, I will most certainly be there, because there is no way that I would not want to meet you, and find out all the details about how we met," he paused "I promise." 

"Thank you so much Kenshin!!" Kaoru said squeezing him in another big bear hug.

"Oh Kaoru, you're so cute." He sighed into her hair, although he didn't think she heard him.

Kaoru disengaged herself from Kenshin's embrace and stood up.

"Good night, Kenshin." She said walking towards the futon and slipping back under the covers. 

Kenshin stood and followed Kaoru to the futon. He took his swords out of his belt and placed it next to the side of the futon and slipped under the covers with Kaoru.

Kaoru rolled over and faced Kenshin. "Himura Kenshin, what do you think you're doing?" she asked quite calmly.


	6. There Must be a Reason Why You are Here ...

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

**------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

"Oh Kaoru, you're so cute." He sighed into her hair, although he didn't think she heard him.

Kaoru disengaged herself from Kenshin's embrace and stood up.

"Good night, Kenshin." She said walking towards the futon and slipping back under the covers. 

Kenshin stood and followed Kaoru to the futon. He took his swords out of his belt and placed it next to the side of the futon and slipped under the covers with Kaoru.

Kaoru rolled over and faced Kenshin. "Himura Kenshin, what do you think you're doing?" she asked quite calmly.

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Chapter Six

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'I must really be in for it, since she used my full name' Kenshin thought as he grinned the innocent grin he uses on her all the time in the future. 'Ok…so the smile doesn't work on Kaoru,' he noted 'now…how do I explain this to her without her getting upset with me?' he wondered.  "Well, Kaoru, we wouldn't want anyone to open the door in the morning to discover that a married couple was not sharing a bed now would we?" Kenshin asked her.

Kaoru frowned. 'He does have a point,' she thought 'in a weird and perverted kind of way' she mused.  'I haven't even had the chance to sleep with **_my_** Kenshin yet, and here I am, in the past sleeping with him!! Mou!! Of all the ridiculous things!! I can't believe how much bolder he is in this time period!! This Kenshin wouldn't have taken 2 years to propose to me!!' Kaoru fumed to herself.

"Are you ok?" Kenshin asked her, noticing the steam coming out of her ears.

"I'm fine." She snapped. "Kenshin…no baka." She added. "Good night." She said and closed her eyes. And once again tried to get herself back home…

---------------------------------------------------

Kenshin woke to quite a beautiful morning. The birds were singing, and somehow, during the night, Kaoru had found her way into his arms, and was cuddled up against him. 'I can almost believe that we're not in the middle of a war, I don't ever remember feeling so at peace,' Kenshin thought to himself while looking at Kaoru's peaceful face while she slept. Kenshin sighed…they were in war…there was no doubt about it…and he could be so happy if they weren't. Not to mention the thought of Kaoru having to go back anywhere was quite un-nerving. He didn't like the idea…not one bit. 'Now that she's here, with me…she's going to stay here with me.' He thought to himself.

"Ken…shin…" Kaoru breathed in her sleep.

He smiled at her.  'She's dreaming about me' he thought, his heart beginning to beat faster in excitement. He leaned closer to her and pecked the tip of her nose with his lips. "Good Morning, Kaoru" he whispered to her.

"Good morning…swmumpheetmuphhearuht" Kaoru replied while rubbing her nose against his arm, as if trying to wipe off his kiss in her sleep.

Kenshin chuckled, and Kaoru cracked an eye open and stared at him.

"Oh…it's just you…battousai…" Kaoru said, the disappointment apparent in her tone of voice.

Kenshin frowned. 'So not only are we back to battousai…now she's not even happy to see me.  How can this be?  She was just saying my name in her sleep…this doesn't make any sense.' He thought.

Kaoru noted Kenshin's deep frown. 'Oh, God…I hope I didn't hurt his feelings.' She thought, realizing what she had said.  "I'm sorry, Kenshin…I didn't mean to be so rude…I just…" Kaoru paused and sighed, "I just miss my home, and my husband…" she trailed off sadly.

Kenshin felt a sharp pang of jealousy. He frowned even deeper. "Am I really so bad?" he asked.

Kaoru half smiled. "No, Kenshin, but you are different now than you are in the future…not an entirely different person, but you lead a different life, and you dress differently.  You haven't learned the things that you have learned from getting older yet, and…and well…you're still an assassin. I'm also worried about you in the future…how you are taking this. When Enishi captured me and took me to his island, you almost gave up and died.  Or at least that's what everyone told me…and now…and now, I just know things will be worse…I'm hoping that when I return, I will return to my bedroom, and be on my way to the ceremony, like nothing happened, but I have a feeling that's not how things will turn out." Kaoru finished.

'Who in the hell is Enishi? I will kill him!! For taking Kaoru away!! Sweet girl…so worried about me, but what about her fiancée?  Isn't she worried about him too?  She is so confusing.' "What about your fiancée, Kaoru? Aren't you worried about him too? I mean…you know…?" Kenshin asked her.

Kaoru rolled her eyes. 'Great…how am I going to explain my way out of this one…'?

Kenshin noted Kaoru rolling her eyes. He narrowed his eyes, observing her more closely…'she better not lie to me about this' he thought.

'Ok…how do I get out of these situations with Kenshin?' she thought. 'Ah, yes…I remember now…I was just starting to get good at this before he asked me to marry him…turn it around on him…let's see…turn it around…turn it around…turn it around…' "Why do you always ask me questions about my fiancée? HMMM?" Kaoru asked raising her eyebrow at him.

To Kaoru's astonishment Kenshin blushed…'caught…red-handed,' he thought. "Well, actually, I was thinking that there must be a reason why you're here…with me…instead of there…with him…" Kenshin trailed off and blushed even harder at embarrassment as Kaoru's eyes widened with his words.

"AND?" Kaoru asked.

"And…so I…I was thinking yesterday…about you…" he paused and swallowed…Kaoru just kept staring at him with her eyes big as saucers. 'Geez, this is hard.' He thought. "And I was thinking about…" Kenshin stopped. 'I can't do this…I can't tell her. Even if she is marrying someone she shouldn't be, I just can't do this…' he chickened out. 

"You were thinking about what?" Kaoru egged him on.

"…" Kenshin looked away. 'I can't do it!! It's not right!!' he thought. 'I can't tell her that I think she's here because something that wasn't supposed to happen in the future did, and that I think we're destined to be together…she'll think I'm completely bananas!!'

"Common' Kenshin…you can tell me" Kaoru said sweetly as she gently grabbed his face and turned it back towards her, looking into his confused eyes.  'Kaoru no baka!! You are confusing the poor guy!!' she chided herself, 'I know, but I can't help it!! He looks so cute!! And I **_love_** him!! He's still Kenshin!!' her other half yelled back.

Kenshin noticed the conflicting emotions on her face.  "It's true isn't it…?" he whispered to her.

"What?" Kaoru questioned.

"You were going to marry someone else weren't you!? That's why you're here with me now isn't it!!" he accused, his eyes flashing with pain.

Surprised beyond belief at what Kenshin was implying Kaoru's eyes bugged out of their sockets, completely. 'HE'S GOT TO BE JOKING!!' her mind screamed at her.

"Don't give me that look Kaoru…I mean it.  Come clean with me and tell me the truth.  You have been hiding something about you, and my future self from me ever since you told me where you are from, and it's really important to me.  Is it true?  Were you going to marry someone other than my future self?"

Kaoru closed her eyes…'this isn't happening to me…it can't be. Why is he doing this…does he have to know that badly? WHERE on EARTH did he get an idea like that? That BAKA Kenshin…always a baka…in the past…in the present…defiantly in the future…baka…baka…baka…baka…baka…' she thought to herself.  "Kenshin…no…baka…" Kaoru choked out. "How did you know?" she asked him almost in disbelief.  "How did you know that I was hiding something?  How could you think that I'm marrying someone other than you?  Of course I'm getting married to you, you idiot!!" she bonked him on the head with her fist.  The smile that Kenshin gave her made it all worthwhile, she immediately decided.  She cupped his face with her hands. "Kenshin" she breathed, "It's you, and only ever been you that I've loved, I love you." She finished.

He slowly smiled, her words sinking in and taking effect, as a lone tear slid down his cheek. "I never thought someone could love me," he trailed off, also cupping Kaoru's face in his hands. "I never thought that I could be loved by anyone, and I certainly never thought they would be as wonderful as you…Kaoru, my Kaoru," Kenshin whispered to her.

Tears began pouring down Kaoru's cheeks as well. "Oh…Kenshin…" she sighed. He leaned in close to her and touched his lips against her, hesitant at first, and then confidently.  Kenshin removed his hands from Kaoru's face and wrapped his arms around her slight form, pulling her as close as possible to him as he could. Between kisses Kenshin said possessively, "I love you too, Kaoru…my Kaoru."

Kaoru pulled away for a moment and giggled. "I don't know how.  Kenshin, you just met me really!!" she exclaimed.

Kenshin laughed himself. "Aa." He replied, "But I bet in the future it was love at first sight as well, right?" he asked her.

Kaoru blushed. 'Maybe for me, you were always so mixed with your signals…' she thought to herself. 'Although,' she remembered, 'he did mention something about loving me since he met me, after we were engaged.'  Just as she was about to answer, the paper screen door slid open. Kenshin and Kaoru sat up, to greet whoever was walking in through the door.

"Good Morning, Tomoe-chan!!" Kaoru cheerfully greeted her new friend.

Tomoe frowned at the couple. "I'm sorry, Kaoru-chan…for what I am about to do." Tomoe said.


	7. Truth and Revenge

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

**------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Kenshin laughed himself. "Aa." He replied, "But I bet in the future it was love at first sight as well, right?" he asked her.

Kaoru blushed. 'Maybe for me, you were always so mixed with your signals…' she thought to herself. 'Although,' she remembered, 'he did mention something about loving me since he met me, after we were engaged.'  Just as she was about to answer, the paper screen door slid open. Kenshin and Kaoru sat up, to greet whoever was walking in through the door.

"Good Morning, Tomoe-chan!!" Kaoru cheerfully greeted her new friend.

Tomoe frowned at the couple. "I'm sorry, Kaoru-chan…for what I am about to do." Tomoe said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Seven

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"What?" Kaoru exclaimed getting up from the futon and quickly walking to where Tomoe was approaching them. "Tomoe-chan what are you talking about?" Kaoru questioned, the urgency apparent in her voice.

Tomoe ignored Kaoru and brushed past her to where Kenshin was sitting on the futon, a baffled look on his face.  "Himura-san." Tomoe addressed Kenshin arriving at the edge of the futon. She stood as close as possible to him without standing on the futon.

A rather confused Kenshin glanced at Kaoru then back to Tomoe. "Yes, Tomoe-san? Is there something I can help you with?" Kenshin asked politely.

Tomoe frowned at Kenshin...sorrow and regret evident on her face. 

Kenshin felt his heart speed up...'what's wrong with me?' He wondered. 'Tomoe almost has the same effect on me as Kaoru...'

Tomoe lowered herself to her knees and sat in front of Kenshin. She gave a sad smile and then her face turned stern and angry.

"Himura Kenshin, also known as, the Hitokiri Battousai." Tomoe began in a low angry voice, as if announcing some sort of decree. "Do you know what you have done to me and my family?" she asked.

Kenshin just stared at Tomoe wide-eyed. 'Great, I killed her Dad!!' he thought to himself. 'I knew I should have killed her when I had the chance...now she's going to try to kill me.  Stupid woman.  Is she also looking to die at my hands?' Kenshin thought bitterly, the regret already heavy on his heart.  His eyes turned yellow with anger at her stupidity and he glared at her, his arm slowly inching towards his katana...un-noticed by Tomoe.

Kaoru panicked. 'What is she going to due to Kenshin?' she wondered. Her heart began beating furiously out of her chest. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her body, but could do nothing except stand on the sidelines and watch the dramatic scene unfold between the "would be" lovers.

Tomoe did not wait for Kenshin to respond, answering her own question in the same angry voice, "You murdered my fiancée, you took away my only happiness –" Tomoe stopped, and gasped.

Kenshin's eyes had softened, returning to there usual purple hue. 'Oh, Tomoe...I'm so sorry.' He thought, wondering what it would be like if he lost Kaoru.

"Don't look at me like that!!" Tomoe yelled at him. Before either Kenshin or Kaoru could do anything, Tomoe pulled a dagger out of her kimono sleeve and slashed Kenshin's face in the opposite direction as his once again bleeding scar, making an "x" of blood on his face.

Kaoru screamed "NO TOMOE!!" and lunged her self-forward, tackling Tomoe and seizing her small dagger immediately after Tomoe scarred Kenshin's face.

In shock Kenshin grabbed his left cheek, trying to stop the blood from getting all over his room. 'She's dead,' he simply thought to himself as he wiped the blood from his face and prepared to attack Tomoe.

Kaoru was in tears. The pain of it all washing over her completely...'I can't believe what just happened,' her mind numbly thought in shock. 'They...they are supposed to love each other.  This doesn't make any sense to me.  Why did she do that? Is she mad because he took me in and fell in love with me? What **_have_** I done?' she thought in despair. Kaoru dropped the dagger to the floor as she covered her face with her hands and dropped to her knees.  "I want to go home!!" she wailed out to no one in utter despair.

Kaoru's wail jerked Kenshin out of his rage over Tomoe's actions. Tomoe regained her composure and placed her arms around her friend at the same time as Kenshin reached her, also placing his arms around her.

"I'm sorry Kaoru!!" Tomoe exclaimed, tears beginning to fall on her cheeks as well.

"Please don't say that Kaoru..." Kenshin begged..."I need you here with me...now."

"No!!" Kaoru said flinging they're comforting arms off of her and standing back up. "This is wrong!! This is **_all_** wrong!! You don't understand!!  This is NOT what is supposed to happen!!!" she cried to them "I'm NOT supposed to be here!!!" 

Kenshin stood and wrapped Kaoru in his arms...holding tightly so she could not escape his embrace. "Shhh." He comforted, patting her hair.  "Calm down sweetheart, everything is going to be ok." He said soothingly.

"You don't understand Kenshin...she almost killed you...she could have KILLED YOU." Kaoru sobbed into his chest.

Kenshin rolled his eyes. "Kaoru, you told me yourself that we're together in the future." Kenshin said.

Kaoru pulled away a little, capping her despair with her anger at his younger self's arrogance. "Kenshin you fool!!" she fumed. "I told you just me being here is changing things!! You don't even know the truth about Tomoe!!" 

Tomoe who had been quietly sobbing on the floor the whole time, lost in her own despair, at hurting her new friend...loosing her fiancée...even the loss of what "could have been" between her and her supposed nemesis...Himura Kenshin, sobbed even louder. "Kaoru!! I'm soooo sorry!!" she exclaimed.

Kaoru turned her head to where Tomoe was sitting on the floor, tears also streaming down her face.  She frowned at her friend. She needed to tell them. 'Might as well come clean' she thought.

"Tomoe..." she began, addressing Tomoe. She thought it would be less painful to watch Tomoe's expressions about the news than Kenshin's. She didn't want to see him realize his love for the other woman...friend or not, after the events this morning, the pain of him choosing her would leave a scar, possibly forever. "You, and Kenshin, you are supposed to be married, not me and him."

Tomoe's eyes widened in astonishment, and she quickly glanced to Kenshin's face to see what he thought of what his newly wedded bride was saying.

Kenshin was completely shocked. He took a step back from Kaoru and examined her closely. 'Me, and-and…Tomoe?!?!???...married?!!!!!?!?!?!??' he thought.

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AN: I know, I know...this chapter is really dramatic. ::shrugs:: there just wasn't a way to avoid it. Kenshin **_needs_** to have a cross shaped scar...this is how he got it...according to my altered version anyways.  ****grin** **From now on things will get better...I promise ;) Please leave nice comments!!

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D


	8. The Good and the Bad of Change

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

**------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Kaoru turned her head to where Tomoe was sitting on the floor, tears also streaming down her face. She frowned at her friend. She needed to tell them. 'Might as well come clean' she thought.

"Tomoe..." she began, addressing Tomoe. She thought it would be less painful to watch Tomoe's expressions about the news than Kenshin's. She didn't want to see him realize his love for the other woman...friend or not, after the events this morning, the pain of him choosing her would leave a scar, possibly forever. "You, and Kenshin, you are supposed to be married, not me and him."

Tomoe's eyes widened in astonishment, and she quickly glanced to Kenshin's face to see what he thought of what his newly wedded bride was saying.

Kenshin was completely shocked. He took a step back from Kaoru and examined her closely. 'Me, and-and…Tomoe?!?!???...married?!!!!!?!?!?!??' he thought.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Eight

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaoru sneaked a glance at Kenshin. He was staring at her in disbelief.

"It's true...Kenshin." she said softly.

"No." he said, shaking his head in denial. "I think you are confused…I killed her fiancée…not 'I am her fiancée,'" Kenshin gestured, pointing to himself as the bad guy. "She hates me, she came here to get revenge." He pointed towards Tomoe's form sobbing on the ground.

Kaoru opened her mouth to protest, but her protest died before it began as Kenshin turned towards Tomoe. "I'm sorry, Tomoe-san for killing your fiancée.  I choose not know to these types of things about those that I kill.  It is my job, and if I knew those types of things, I would be unable to do my job.  I'm doing this so that Japan can have peace, and a new, improved way of life. I want you to know that, had I known who your fiancée was, I would never have done that." He grinned a cocky grin…"I would have just knocked him out and brought him back to you, where he belongs."

Tomoe half smiled through her tears nodded in affirmation. "I hope you can forgive me also, Himura-san, for scarring your cheek," she paused, "I've known since the beginning that it was Akira, that had succeeded in scarring your face.  They told me, what he had done before he died.  So I came here, to find you, and exact my revenge for my fiancée, but I found that I couldn't help but like you despite the atrocities that you have done. I had a much more elaborate plan, which would have lead to your death. However, I have called it off, and decided that I would cross the scar of my beloved instead." She paused again, a wistful look on her face, "I really like your wife, she is so sweet, and it's because of her that I changed my plan for you.  I did not even want to do this, but…I had to…do it…for Akira." 

Kenshin and Kaoru both nodded in understanding.

"Kaoru-chan…" Tomoe said addressing her new friend. "I want you to know how much you have changed my life for the better.  I want to start over, with a new life. I was thinking of going to China, a place where I have no past, and no ties to it." She half smiled at the couple.

"Tomoe-chan," Kaoru began.

"Yes, Kaoru-chan?"

"Please, bring your brother Enishi with you...he can watch out for you and take care of you.  I think it will be better for you because you won't be so lonely." Kaoru said.

'Enishi!!' thought Kenshin. 'Isn't that the guy that kidnapped Kaoru in the future?!?!? She mentioned him...didn't she?'

"Thank you, Kaoru-chan, I think that's a great idea.  Enishi and I both need to start over." Tomoe walked over to where Kenshin and Kaoru were standing. Kaoru was able to pull out of Kenshin's embrace to give Tomoe a heartfelt hug good-bye.

"Take Care...Kaoru-chan." Tomoe whispered to her. "Goodbye, Battousai," she said as she turned to leave. Then turning back to them, she said, "take good care of Kaoru-chan, I'm worried now that she may be loosing her mind." She paused. "All this talk about us getting married…of all the ridiculous things." She said and then turned and headed out of the room.

"I'll be fine Tomoe-chan…don't mind me, I just get silly ideas of jealousy in my head sometimes, right Kenshin?" Kaoru called to the retreating form of Tomoe, jabbing Kenshin in the side to agree with her.

Kenshin let out a sort of snorting sound.

Tomoe turned back one last time smiled at the couple, and bowed. Then she opened the paper screen door, left the room, and quietly slid the closed behind her.

New tears streamed down Kaoru's face, but these were tears of happiness. 'I hope she has a wonderful life,' Kaoru thought.  'Enishi too...he was a good guy at heart; he was just tormented by sad childhood memories, and a little off the wall because of it.  Ok, a lot off the wall...' Kaoru suppressed a giggle of happiness knowing that the next Kaoru and this Kenshin she was with now wouldn't have to go through all that.

Kenshin watched Kaoru's tears stream down her face and puzzled over all he had learned about her that morning. She was still such a mystery.  'She MUST have been making all that stuff up about Tomoe and me...right? Silly woman,' he thought. 

"Kaoru, are you ok?" Kenshin asked.

Kaoru looked up at Kenshin through her tears of joy. Then she reluctantly stroked his bloody and scarred cheek with her hand.  "Well, at least now you look more like yourself," she said, trying to brighten the situation.

Kenshin frowned, "you mean 'it's not an x, it's not an x'?" he questioned.

Kaoru smirked. 'He has an amazing memory…it's no wonder he's the greatest swordsman in all of Japan.' "Yes, Kenshin, now it's an x, as it should be," she whispered to him.

Kenshin's frown deepened, "so…I'm going to have this scar on my face for the rest of my life?" he asked.

Kaoru shrugged. "Well, you had it when I met you, when you were 28, and you still have it now, and your 30 now."

Kenshin scowled, "why do I have to be so old?"

Kaoru burst out laughing. "My sentiments exactly!! I can't even begin to tell you how many times, you held that as a barrier between us…as if age matters anyways." Kaoru finished, rolling her eyes.

Kenshin grinned. "Your right. If age mattered, I wouldn't be in love with a woman that's 4 years my senior." 

Kaoru giggled, "actually Kenshin, I'm just a little girl right now…ummmm…5 years old to be exact."

Kenshin sweat dropped, "you weren't kidding when you said I was old!"

She smiled at him, her eyes shining.  As Kenshin leaned his face in towards Kaoru's, she closed her eyes. Just before their lips met, there was an abrupt rap on the paper screen door to their room, making the couple jump a mile apart.

"Himura-san!! Emergency meeting, right away!!" Someone yelled through the paper-thin door.

Kenshin grabbed his katana off of the floor and slid the door open with force.

"What's going on?" he asked the man.

"The Tokugawa Shogunate are having a secret meeting, we've been informed that they are planning on attacking tonight." He replied.

Kenshin curtly nodded his head. "One moment please." He said to the man waiting for him in the hallway.  He went back into the room, swiftly grabbed one of his hakamas and a gi and handed them to Kaoru. "Kaoru, change into these clothes and get a katana.  You are coming with me tonight, and you might need to be able to defend yourself. Get our things and tie them up in a blanket, we won't be coming back here tonight, the Shogunate has discovered our whereabouts." 

Dumbfounded, Kaoru took the items Kenshin was handing her and nodded her head.

Kenshin leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "It's ok honey, I will protect you.  I just need you to be able to move quickly, you're an assistant master anyways, right?" Kenshin replied on his way back to the hallway.

"Yes." Kaoru replied, nervously.

"Good. Meet me downstairs in 5 minutes.  That's where the meeting will be. Bring your katana, or get one if you don't have one." Kenshin said shutting the door behind him.

"But, I only use bok—" Kaoru stopped, realizing Kenshin couldn't hear her anyways "-kens…" she finished lamely to herself.

'I only use bokkens you crazy assassin!!' she fumed to herself. 'Mou!' Kaoru shivered. 'I'm going into a real war battle tonight' she thought nervously. 

Pushing her thoughts aside, she quickly changed into the younger Kenshin's clothes. Kaoru took a deep whiff of his clothing once it was on her and closed her eyes for brief a second, letting the smell of him take her home to her peaceful rurouni, to calm her jumping nerves and pumping adrenaline. 'Stay focused tonight Kaoru,' she told herself as she quickly gathered their clothes and tied them all up in a tight and small blanket. Then she grabbed a broom and broke off the bottom for a make-shift bokken, gave it a couple of practice swings to see if it would make do, and after nodding her head that it was indeed as good as she would get for a bokken, headed downstairs to meet up with Kenshin and the rest of the Ishinshishi samuari.


	9. Kaoru in the War

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

**------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

"Good. Meet me downstairs in 5 minutes.  That's where the meeting will be. Bring your katana, or get one if you don't have one." Kenshin said shutting the door behind him.

"But, I only use bok—" Kaoru stopped, realizing Kenshin couldn't hear her anyways "-kens…" she finished lamely to herself.

'I only use bokkens you crazy assassin!!' she fumed to herself. 'Mou!' Kaoru shivered. 'I'm going into a real war battle tonight' she thought nervously. 

Pushing her thoughts aside, she quickly changed into the younger Kenshin's clothes. Kaoru took a deep whiff of his clothing once it was on her and closed her eyes for brief a second, letting the smell of him take her home to her peaceful rurouni, to calm her jumping nerves and pumping adrenaline. 'Stay focused tonight Kaoru,' she told herself as she quickly gathered their clothes and tied them all up in a tight and small blanket. Then she grabbed a broom and broke off the bottom for a make-shift bokken, gave it a couple of practice swings to see if it would make do, and after nodding her head that it was indeed as good as she would get for a bokken, headed downstairs to meet up with Kenshin and the rest of the Ishinshishi samuari.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Nine

-------------------------------------------------------------------

There was an eerie sort of quiet calm over the clan, Kaoru noted, as she arrived at the meeting room, possessions and bokken in tow. Kenshin was standing right at the entrance, and pulled her close to him as soon as she entered the room.

"You look cute in my clothes," he whispered into her ear. "Like a true Inshinshishi samurai," he added trying to boost her confidence.

Kaoru couldn't help but blush. She couldn't believe Kenshin could be so bold like this, 'maybe it's his teenage hormones,' she thought. Kaoru bit her lower lip trying not to loose her composure and laugh her head off at the picture her mind created of her rurouni with raging hormones.

The meeting was extremely brief. First they informed them of what they knew of the plans of the Shogunate, they wanted to burn Kyoto to the ground, this very night because the festival was happening and there would be many witnesses of it. So the plan for them, was that they needed to head to the Shogunate's hideout where the Shinsin-gumi were supposedly having a meeting at this very moment, and make sure that the leader was killed. Kenshin was of course, put in charge making sure the leader was assassinated, Kaoru noted. Upon receiving his orders, Kenshin only nodded, and grabbing Kaoru headed out of the room.

Once outside, there were 5 or 6 distinct groups of 4 – 5 samurai each. Kenshin joined up with 3 that appeared to be waiting for him. All three of them stared at Kaoru for a second and then looked at Kenshin.

Kenshin noticed the looks on the faces of his fellow samurai and decided it would be best to give a brief explanation. "This is my wife, Himura Kaoru." He began, putting his arm around Kaoru in a sort of introduction. "She is an assistant master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu, and she will be fine. I can not allow her to stay here at the inn."

Kaoru almost cried at hearing Kenshin introduce her as his wife, with her married name and everything. 'Oh how I wish I could have heard those words from his lips for the first time in my own time.' She thought wistfully. 

The other samurai simply bowed in respect. Kaoru bowed back.

"Let's go." Kenshin said grabbing Kaoru's free hand and pulling her behind him as he led the way through the alleyways of the now-night-time Kyoto.

Kaoru ran behind Kenshin as he half pulled her, forcing her to keep up with his "god like" speed, and wondered when they would stop running. She didn't even know Kyoto was this big!! Just then Kenshin abruptly stopped, and it was only Kaoru's own training that prevented her from slamming into his backside. She was actually quite pleased with herself, since usually she was somewhat klutzy in those situations, 'maybe it's all this battle ki that is making me focus so much,' she figured. She peered around Kenshin's shoulder and noticed two samurai dressed in the same outfit, it was different than the colors that her and Kenshin and the rest of the Ishinshishi wore. 'Are these Shinsin-gumi warriors?' she wondered to herself.

Immediately upon seeing Kenshin, they drew their swords. Kenshin pushed her away and before Kaoru could even blink both men were on the ground, bloody and dead. Kaoru winced, 'poor Kenshin had to go through so much!!' she thought to herself.

Kenshin flicked the blood of off his katana, re-sheathed it, and grabbed Kaoru's hand again, pulling her through the alleys once again, the other Ishinshishi samurai right behind them.

They stopped a couple more times for the same type of encounter until they rounded a bend and were met with a whole group of samurai. Kaoru was not sure what to do, but this time the other three samurai that had been accompanying them this whole time, unsheathed their swords and stepped up. The one in the front turned back to Kenshin and nodded his head at him. Kenshin nodded back, grabbed Kaoru once more and they ran, but in the other direction.

"What was that all about?!?" Kaoru yelled to Kenshin as they ran.

"I need to get to the hideout, our top priority is killing the leader.  I didn't have time to deal with all those men, it could have delayed us, 5 minutes maybe." Kenshin replied and picked up the speed at which they were running.

'Oh' was all Kaoru could think as she continued to run behind him. It was barely more than a minute, and once again they stopped, but this time, there was a building right next to them that had dimly lit lights all throughout it.

"Is this the place?" Kaoru whispered as Kenshin pulled her into some nearby brush so the couple of guards would not see them.

Kenshin merely nodded and placed his finger over her mouth indicating that she not even whisper again. Kaoru nodded in response.

Then before Kaoru even realized what Kenshin was doing, he leaped out of the brush, leaving her behind, and took out both of the guards before they could even cry out or unsheathe their katanas. Kenshin turned back to the brush that a rather dumbfounded Kaoru was standing in, and waved for her to join him on the steps.

Kaoru ran silently out of the brush and over to where Kenshin was. Kaoru grinned remembering how she had learned to quietly move through bushes by spying on Sano to make sure he was ok at night.

Kenshin quirked his eyebrow at Kaoru's grin and she waved her hand at him as if to say 'I'll tell you later.'

Kenshin nodded. He pointed at the very spot that Kaoru was standing on, just to the side of the doors leading inside.  Kaoru realized he was telling her to stay there. She opened her mouth to protest, but was met with a gentle hand over her mouth and a menacing look from Kenshin's now yellow eyes.

Kaoru decided not to test him.  In love with her or not, she was still dealing with a deadly assassin. 'Kenshin has defiantly always had a more menacing and forceful side to him,' she reminded herself, 'this is not the time to argue, our lives are at stake' she thought as she nodded her consent.

Kenshin nodded back, and then in a brief second he flung open the doors. Shouts and the sound of metal on metal could be heard as well as the groans of those whom Kaoru assumed were being killed mercilessly by her young husband.

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Kaoru heard the sound of a paper screen door opening and peered her head around the corner of the building to see a man quickly exiting the room and descending the stairs of the porch, only taking a second to glance back at the building before continuing on. Her brows lowered in annoyance. "Oh no, you don't" she said under her breath realizing he must be the leader Kenshin had come to assassinate, making his get away as Kenshin killed all of his "underlings."

Kaoru dropped the blanket with their belongings on the ground. With a speed and power, Kaoru did not even know she possessed, she leaped into the air, over the railing of the porch while at the same time, extracting her make-shift bokken from her back and landed right behind the man. Just as he was turning to see what was behind him, Kaoru swung down on his right shoulder with great force, dislocating his shoulder and disabling him from using his sword. Then before the man even knew what hit him, Kaoru swung another strike at his kneecaps, forcing him to buckle over and fall on the ground. "Tsukanogedan-hizahishigi!!!" Kaoru yelled as she gave the leader a final blow to his head, knocking him unconscious.

"HA!! HA-HA!!!" Kaoru gloated as she put her hands on her hips, bokken still in hand, and placed one foot on top of her "conquest." She glanced towards the door he had come out of, wondering how Kenshin was doing in there.  She didn't have to wait long before Kenshin came flying out of the room. In mid-air of his "flight" down the porch steps he noticed Kaoru in her victory stance and stopped short, in front of her, his eyes in little amber slits.

"Kaoru," he paused, looking highly ticked. "I told you to stay over there." He said pointing with his katana in the general direction of their left behind belongings.

Kaoru glared at him. "What!! You think I'm going to let the very reason we came here sneak out the side door before you complete your mission?" She threw her arms up in disgust. Kenshin backed away from her swinging bokken. "I want to get the hell out of here ok?" she yelled at him.

Kenshin frowned, and then glanced down at the poor soul lying under Kaoru's foot. "Who's that?" he asked her, once again pointing with his katana.

Kaoru took her foot off and rolled the unconscious man onto his back, for Kenshin's inspection. "Is this the guy we came here for?" she asked him.

Kenshin grimaced. "Yeah, I think so." He said. Then he lifted up his katana and drove it through the man's heart. 

Kaoru jumped back at the blood beginning to pour out of the man. Then she hit Kenshin. "You baka!! Can't you at least warn me before you do that? I hate seeing you like this!! I wish you would realize that you jerk!"

Kenshin frowned at Kaoru. "I'm sorry, I'm not used to all this yet, you being here, having someone give a damn about me and the things I do."

Kaoru sighed. She took Kenshin's arm and led him back in the direction of their belongings. "So now what?" she asked him as she bent down to pick up the previously discarded baggage.

Kenshin shrugged. 

"HIMURA!!!" A man yelled running up to the two of them.

"Yes?" Kenshin questioned.

"Quickly, back to the inn, we're being attacked!!" he informed him, turning and running back from the way he came.

Kenshin grabbed Kaoru and they quickly ran back towards the inn, this time taking a much quicker route, Kaoru noted. Just before reaching the inn, Kenshin stopped short…"Katsura" he said as they almost plowed into 3 men, making their way in the opposite direction.

"Kenshin!" the man in the front exclaimed. "I'm very happy to see that you and your wife are ok." He briefly smiled. 

"I had feared for your life sir." Kenshin offered.

"Aa." He agreed. "I wish that I was dead…all my ideas are dead." He said quite sadly. "I fear that we have lost everything.  Our hideout has been discovered, and although, I would imagine your mission has been successful, we have lost just about everyone else tonight. There were many locations that the Shogunate's various clans were meeting at tonight, only yours went well. We need to regroup and I don't know how long this will take. In the meantime, you need to be hidden, so as you do not become a target. I know there are many who want you dead as it is." He paused. "You and your wife will go to a house I have up in the mountains, it has already been arranged. You will stay there until I send for you." He finished.

Kenshin nodded solemnly. "Kaoru and I will set out at once, and await for word from you there."

Katsura smiled and turned to one of the three men with him. "Izuka, you will give Himura-san directions on how to get there."

The man nodded.

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AN: I hope everybody likes where the story is going ;) Sorry about my writing skills lacking so much. 

Please visit my new RK website if you have the time: http://clik.to/dreamsofrk. If you have any RK fanfix of your own, I'd love to post them there!! ;)

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D


	10. A Marriage too Soon

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

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Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"Aa." He agreed. "I wish that I was dead…all my ideas are dead." He said quite sadly. "I fear that we have lost everything.  Our hideout has been discovered, and although, I would imagine your mission has been successful, we have lost just about everyone else tonight. There were many locations that the Shogunate's various clans were meeting at tonight, only yours went well. We need to regroup and I don't know how long this will take. In the meantime, you need to be hidden, so as you do not become a target. I know there are many who want you dead as it is." He paused. "You and your wife will go to a house I have up in the mountains, it has already been arranged. You will stay there until I send for you." He finished.

Kenshin nodded solemnly. "Kaoru and I will set out at once, and await for word from you there."

Katsura smiled and turned to one of the three men with him. "Izuka, you will give Himura-san directions on how to get there."

The man nodded.

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Chapter Ten

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The trip up to the mountains was rather long, as well as, eventful as far as Kaoru was concerned. She was pretty sure Kenshin felt the same way, but not in the same way that she did.  She knew that it was impossible for him to truly understand things from her point of view, after all, she was from the future, and he didn't know what the future was really like, he only knew that he would be married to her eventually.  

They had stopped in a small village on the way and preformed the wedding ceremony. Kaoru had cried through the whole thing. Kenshin had tried to be understanding about it, but couldn't help but feel hurt that Kaoru was not as happy as he was. So he questioned her about it during the trek up the mountain.  "Kaoru…why were you so upset during the ceremony?" he asked.

Kaoru frowned. She had been hoping that Kenshin would not bring it up.  She honestly didn't know how to feel. She was very happy to be married to the man she loved, but at the same time, she felt torn, because in some ways he wasn't the man she loved, but he **_was_**!! It was all rather confusing, and highly emotional.  Kaoru let out a big sigh. "Ken…shin…" she began, she stopped and sighed again, "I don't know what to tell you, it's hard for me to express myself. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that we're finally married - " Kaoru stopped herself, "- but that's just the thing, it's the FINALLY!"

Kenshin stopped walking and looked at Kaoru as the steam began pouring out of her ears.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked.

Kaoru stopped her rampage and looked at Kenshin. Then she snapped her fingers. "That's it!" she exclaimed. "That's why I'm so mad!! It's you!! It's you not being you!"

Kenshin frowned even bigger.

Kaoru, realizing her mistake said "NO-no-no-no-no!! I don't mean **_you_**!! I mean the other YOU." Kaoru tried to explain. Then she stopped her explanation, realizing that not only had she confused herself, but she had confused Kenshin too.

Kenshin didn't seem to feel any better, although he didn't understand what she was saying; he figured that he knew what she was getting at. "But, it's still me Kaoru," he said softly.

"Mou!" Kaoru exclaimed. "I know, but it's still not you, do you know what I mean? There's no history between you and me," she trailed off. 

"Oh. I see how it is," Kenshin paused. "It's ok.  It's my fault, after all, I forced you into this."

Kaoru frowned. "No, Kenshin, it's not like that," she said softly.

"How so?" Kenshin questioned. "I forced you to come with me when I ran into you that night on the stairs, then I made you stay in my room and lied to everyone that you were my wife so that you couldn't get away before I got my answers from you. Then I made you come with me here, and then I wanted the marriage to not be a lie, so I forced you into that too, and you cried through the whole thing!" he finished.

Kaoru stopped walking and turned to Kenshin. He stopped too. "Listen Kenshin, past or present or future, you're still Kenshin. I still love you. I just can't help feeling like this is wrong because I know that I'm not supposed to be here."

"Well, if you aren't supposed to be here, then why are you here Kaoru?" Kenshin asked matter-of-factly.

Kaoru grimaced, then without another word she turned and began walking up the mountain trail again. 

Kenshin tried not to laugh at the steam coming out of her ears, and kept a couple of paces behind her.

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Kaoru had calmed herself down, somewhat and reasoned that she should take this opportunity to learn more about the other side of her future husband, since she **_was_** here, even if she wasn't supposed to be. She reached the top of the mountain trail and stopped, to look at the cute little home that had been saved for them.

Kenshin came up behind her, only a couple of seconds after she stopped, and placed an arm around her shoulders. "Well, what do you think?" he asked softly.

Kaoru smiled. "I think it's the cutest home I've ever seen in my entire life."

Kenshin grinned at her.

"I'm sorry…" she began.

Kenshin put a hand to her mouth. "Shhhh…it's ok Kaoru, I understand," he smiled at her lovingly.

Kaoru leaned over and gave Kenshin a quick kiss, and then just as quickly turned away blushing, and ran into the house.

Kenshin grinned after her. 'She's so special,' he thought following her into the house.

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After touring the house and unpacking what few belongings they had brought with them, they began cooking dinner together.  "I have to warn you that I'm a terrible cook." Kaoru said to Kenshin, deciding that it would be best to fess up right away.

Kenshin looked up from the radish he was chopping and quirked his eyebrow at her. "Is that so?" he teased.

Kaoru blushed with embarrassment. "Yes.  You always cook for us, because I'm no good, and Yahiko and Sano always make fun of my cooking when I cook, although you are usually very sweet about it." She confessed.

Kenshin laughed. "So…who are Yahiko and Sano?" he asked.

Kaoru giggled. "They are our friends. Yahiko is my one and only student, and he lives with us at the dojo. Sano is your best friend, formerly known as Zanza," she paused for breath before adding, "he freeloads off of us all the time."

Kenshin smiled. "Yahiko and Sano…" he looked as if he was filing the information away in his brain. "So I actually live with you at your dojo? And we aren't married yet?" he asked.

Kaoru giggled again. "Yeah…you've been living at my dojo for 2 years already."

Kenshin's eyes widened. "Everyone must have thought a lot of things about that right?" he asked.

Kaoru sighed. "Yes, no-one ever said anything though, knowing who you were, but everyone saw us as and item, except for you, and me, or at least, we never said anything about it.  There was," Kaoru paused searching for the right words, "an understanding between us, but nothing ever came of it, at least, not for what seemed like forever to me.  You had so many walls, and so many 'I'm not worthy speeches.'"

Kenshin put down his knife and squeezed her hand across the chopping block. "Hey, it's all in the past right?" he asked.

"Yes, you're right.  Let's not talk about it anymore, it's probably not good for me to tell you all these things anyways." Kaoru replied squeezing back.

"Ok, then, how about I teach you how to cook better while we are staying here, before we have to go back." Kenshin said trying to lighten the mood.

Kaoru smiled. "That would be really nice."

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After dinner, the couple sat on the porch for a while and watched the stars. Kenshin realized that for the first time in his life, he was truly happy. Yes, there was still a war going on, and yes, he was still a very big part of it, but now he had someone to love, and who loved him back, and even if it was only for that one moment, they were at peace.  Kenshin turned to Kaoru and noticed her yawn.  "Ready for bed, Kaoru?" he whispered.

Kaoru took her hand away from her mouth covering her yawn and smiled with a nod.  Kenshin stood and reached out his hand to help Kaoru up. "Thank you." She said allowing Kenshin to pull her to her feet.

They headed into the cozy bedroom that they were to share, and as if already in a routine, unrolled their futon and made the bed. Kaoru excused herself to change into her nightclothes and while she was gone, Kenshin changed into his own.

Kaoru came back into the room, and got under the covers with Kenshin who was already in bed. Very naturally, Kaoru curled up under his arm, and snuggled up to his side. Just as she was about to drift into the world of dreams, Kenshin said "Ah…sweetheart?"

"Hmm?" Kaoru said half asleep.

Kenshin turned his face towards hers so he could see her. "Are we going to…uh…" he paused and Kaoru cracked open one eye wondering what he was getting at. "Uh…you know…" he stopped again and blushed furiously.


	11. Our First Morning

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

**------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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They headed into the cozy bedroom that they were to share, and as if already in a routine, unrolled their futon and made the bed. Kaoru excused herself to change into her nightclothes and while she was gone, Kenshin changed into his own.

Kaoru came back into the room, and got under the covers with Kenshin who was already in bed. Very naturally, Kaoru curled up under his arm, and snuggled up to his side. Just as she was about to drift into the world of dreams, Kenshin said "Ah…sweetheart?"

"Hmm?" Kaoru said half asleep.

Kenshin turned his face towards hers so he could see her. "Are we going to…uh…" he paused and Kaoru cracked open one eye wondering what he was getting at. "Uh…you know…" he stopped again and blushed furiously.

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Chapter Eleven

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Kaoru was awake in an instant, her eyes bugging out of their sockets, and blushing furiously. She sat up and grabbed her head. 'I didn't even think about _THAT.' _She said to herself.

Kenshin had sat up when she did and placed his arm around her. "Kaoru, are you ok?" he asked.

"Uh…I'm ok…you just kind-of caught me off guard there." Kaoru explained.

Kenshin grinned. Kaoru recognized that grin. It was the same grin that Kenshin gave her before he was about to…well, they never had…but he'd given her **_plenty_** of ideas of what to expect.   She blushed even deeper (if that was even possible) and said "Kenshin…don't look at me like that…"

Kenshin put on a look of innocence. "Like what, Kaoru?" he questioned.

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Don't forget I know you in the future." She huffed with a knowing look.

Kenshin, jumping to conclusions said "What?!? You mean, I, I mean you, I mean, you and me, we, um, we already, um…you know…um…did we really?!?!" he stammered out.

Kaoru laughed. "No baka…not yet, but…" Kaoru stopped mid-sentence and blushed even more.

Kenshin grinned the grin again.  Kaoru blushed even more; she was starting to think her face was going to be permanently red. "Do you think you would care?" she finally whispered to him as if she was confiding in him a very big secret.

Kenshin looked confused, and then taken aback for a minute. Kaoru noticed his brain working though what she was trying to ask. Then he said "Well…I'm not sure…I don't think I would, I mean, I'm still me…it's not like I'm someone else. Besides, we **_are_** really married now, so it's not like, you know." He said trailing off, allowing Kaoru to finish his thought.

"Yeah, we are married now…" Kaoru agreed wistfully.

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Kaoru woke to the peaceful chirping songs of the birds. She did a full body stretch and then realized that she was going to wake Kenshin and so quickly slipped out of bed, and stretched herself out yet again. She placed her hand over her mouth stifling a yawn and shuffled her way into the kitchen. Quietly she pulled out a pot and heated some water to make herself some tea. While the water heated she went back to the bedroom and quietly changed into some of Kenshin's clothes and grabbed her makeshift bokken, deciding that she should take this time away from training Yahiko daily to train more. She quickly sipped her tea, which she was quite pleased turned out ok, and then headed outside to train in the neighboring forest.

'I'm such a weakling' she berated herself. 'Kenshin…always saving me…me…always dumb enough to get captured…' she continued taking out her frustrations on a near by tree. 

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Kenshin stirred in his sleep and rolled over. He stretched out and then reached for Kaoru to snuggle closer…nothing. He patted the bed some more, looking for her...nothing. He moved himself further towards her side of the bed and patted the bed some more…nothing. Now completely frustrated, he opened one eye to discover that his beloved was not in bed. Quite alarmed, Kenshin quickly got up, grabbed his katana, lest she be in danger and ran into the kitchen. He immediately noticed the empty teacup and let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. 'She didn't leave me!!' was his first relieved thought, followed closely by 'Thank God she is ok!!' Movement in his peripheral vision caused him to pause and glace out the window. He noticed Kaoru doing a kata in the woods next to the house and grinned. He Kenshin quickly went into the bedroom and changed himself, and headed outside to train with her.

Kenshin paused as she completed her kata and as she finished he said. "You are too slow, honey, you're going to get yourself killed one of these days."

Kaoru glared daggers at her young husband and stamped her foot in frustration. "Mou!! Kenshin no baka!! Don't you think I already know that?" She yelled at him and turned away quickly, wanting to take out anymore of her anger on him.

Kenshin walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's ok honey, I will always be here to protect you." He whispered into her ear.

Kaoru paused and blinked. Twice. 'What?' she thought 'Did I just hear what I think I just heard?' she asked herself. 'Kenshin was never this cocky…' Blink. 'He was always warning me that he may have to leave one day' Blink. '…But his other self…' she paused and blinked again. 'Is **_he_** really like this?' she had to wonder.

"What's wrong?" Kenshin asked her when she didn't respond. He watched Kaoru blink several times, her eyes as wide as saucers and wondered what she was thinking about.

"Ken…shin…" she finally choked out, as a lone tear slid down her face.

"What?" Kenshin yelped out while turning Kaoru around to face him and pulled her to him in a close, comforting embrace. "What's wrong?" he asked again.

Kaoru allowed her bokken to slip out of her grasp as Kenshin turned her around and she buried her head into his chest, deeply inhaling his scent. 'At least some things never change' she comforted herself, taking another deep breath of Kenshin.  "Don't be so cocky, darling," Kaoru finally spoke up. "It's not like you, plus, you can't be with me ALL the time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it's just not possible…so things…could happen." She said, trying to reason with him.

"Aa" Kenshin agreed. 'What happened to her?' he wondered. He picked up her chin making her look at him. "Did something happen to you when I wasn't around?" Kenshin asked, voicing his question.

Kaoru looked back down. "Erm…" she squirmed a bit, not wanting to remember those things. "Kenshin, its really best if I don't tell you about future events." She said, deciding that just telling him she wasn't going to tell him would be the best route to take.

"When do you think you'll have to go back to the future?" he asked.

Kaoru looked up at him again, noticing the sorrow in his violet eyes. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I did not mean to bring it up again, but I don't know. I don't know why or how I got here, so I don't know what needs to happen before I can go home." She responded honestly.

Kenshin frowned deeply. "Let's not talk about when you will have to leave me, Kaoru. Let's just make the most of the time we have together." He said.

Kaoru grinned at him. "Yes!!" she responded cheerfully, pushing away all her questions about how much not begin married to Tomoe might change her future husband.

Kenshin grinned his special grin at Kaoru again. She blushed.  "Let's start by going back to BED!" he growled to her as he picked her up and rushed them back into the house.  Kaoru squealed as they ran and Kenshin threw her on the bed.

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A/N: 

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all my reviewers. Especially the following:

Karen

Linay

Mon

Macy

StarMagic – who was soooo excited when I finally started updating again.

Kenkao

Red Dragon

Rurouni Angel

And Seliya

I'm thanking you b/c you give me such awesome comments and feedback and it's really encouraging, it gives me ideas, and it inspires me to write the next chapter that much sooner…even when I'm experiencing writer's block (like I have been since chap. 10) So…Domo Arigato minna-san!!

I also wanted to thank Miyu Sakura, who's ficcy "A Stretch of the Heart" has Kaoru meeting the younger version of Kenshin also, I've been enjoying reading it as I've been writing this story. ;)

I will be continuing with the next chapter shortly I hope – does everybody still like the story? This chapter was really difficult to get through…and for those of you wondering…no lemons, it's just too ::coughs:: personal for me to share with you, the intimacies of K&Ks ::coughs again:: you know…. :D

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D


	12. A Training Proposal

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

**------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Kenshin frowned deeply. "Let's not talk about when you will have to leave me, Kaoru. Let's just make the most of the time we have together." He said.

Kaoru grinned at him. "Yes!!" she responded cheerfully, pushing away all her questions about how much not begin married to Tomoe might change her future husband.

Kenshin grinned his special grin at Kaoru again. She blushed.  "Let's start by going back to BED!" he growled to her as he picked her up and rushed them back into the house.  Kaoru squealed as they ran and Kenshin threw her on the bed.

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Chapter Twelve

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~ The Next Morning ~

Kenshin stirred in his sleep and rolled over. He stretched out and then reached for Kaoru to snuggle closer…nothing. He patted the bed some more, looking for her...nothing. He moved himself further towards her side of the bed and patted the bed some more…nothing. Now completely frustrated, he opened one eye to discover that his beloved was not in bed. Kenshin frowned. 'I hope she isn't planning on making a habit out of leaving me in bed ALONE every morning.' He thought to himself and pouted. After a few minutes of feeling sorry for himself, Kenshin got up and dressed and headed outside to join Kaoru for a morning training session…which he had missed out on yesterday to do ::cough:: erm…marital ::cough : cough:: erm…it's newly wed stuff…

Upon arriving at the clearing that Kaoru was practicing at, Kenshin paused once again to observe her skills. 'Hmmmm…she has the right stuff, she just needs more training…maybe, NAW…well, maybe…' Kenshin's thoughts were cut off as Kaoru's cheerful voice rang out, "Good Morning Kenshin!" 

"Good morning," he replied. "Erm, Kaoru?" he began, and then stopped, not knowing quite how to word what he wanted to say.

"Yes?" Kaoru questioned.

"I was thinking," he began again, "erm…I mean, if you would like to, uh…actually it might be a good idea if perhaps you would allow me to…erm…"

"Just spit it out baka!" Kaoru exclaimed, getting exasperated by her husband's pausing and rephrasing.

Kenshin coughed violently for a second and then regained his composure. Looking Kaoru straight in the eye he said, "Kaoru, I think it would be best if I trained you in the ways of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu while you are with me, so nothing ever happens to you when I'm not around." After calmly stating this Kenshin ducked for cover, placing his arms protectively over his head.

Kaoru gasped, her eyes slowly widening as the meaning of his words sank in. 'Did he **_really_** just offer to train me?' she wondered. 'This can't be for real, there is no way…he always said, no-one would learn it from him, I had always…what is that baka doing on the ground?' "Kenshin, what in God's name are you doing on the ground?" she asked, completely dumbfounded.

Kenshin cautiously lifted one arm from his head and peered up at Kaoru's confused face, laughing from embarrassment. 'I guess she's not planning on pounding me into the ground after all,' he thought as a dark blush made it's way across his cheeks.  He stood quickly and dusted himself off. "Ah…nothing Kaoru, nothing at all." He replied quickly.

"So…you would really train me Kenshin?" she hesitantly asked, still not quite sure if her ears had betrayed her or not.

"Yes, yes, yes!! I would love too, I could have peace of mind, knowing that you are safer when I am not around to protect you." He replied excitedly.

"But…but…Kenshin always said that he would never teach Hiten Mitsurugi to another…" Kaoru trailed off in thought, talking to herself.

"Harumph!" Kenshin exclaimed. "Who cares what my other self has to say on the matter, he's not here right?" Kenshin said concededly while throwing and arm over Kaoru's shoulder and leading her off in the direction of the river down the hill. "We will start in the river." He began. "First thing, it is very important to train yourself with restraints, so that when you really need the power, it will be there, because the restraints will be gone. The flowing of the river is just the right friction we will need to accomplish this, it's a mental thing, you understand of course." He continued babbling away to Kaoru gesturing excitedly.

Kaoru listened with half an ear, still digesting that she was going to actually inherit the Hiten Mitsurugi Technique from her usually quite reserved husband…'this new Kenshin is going to take some getting used to.' She mused…'but in a good way' she thought to herself grinning.

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~ 9 Months Later ~

Kaoru found herself in the kitchen alone, poking at the fire in the stove, trying to keep warm from the raging blizzard outside. Kenshin had gone into town to bring back some extra food that they had been unable to grow that summer in their little garden. 'Poor guy, out there in the storm.' Kaoru thought and wished her husband luck on a safe journey home. Kaoru had been training hard every day for months. At first, trying to learn Hiten Mitsurugi had been extremely difficult. Despite being a assistant master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, her body was not in shape to take on the intense training sessions of Hiten Mitsurugi. Not only was it a completely different and more demanding on the physical and mental body technique, but Kaoru also had to adjust to using a much heavier weapon, a sakabatou. They had compromised on the weapon, Kaoru only wanting to use a bokken or shinai, and Kenshin insisting upon a katana. And Kenshin, he was relentless. He put her and her discipline on Yahiko to shame. However, she had to admit, she was loving every moment of it. These past few months with Kenshin had been heavenly. No-one was coming around trying to kill them, they didn't have any disturbances by the names of Myoujin Yahiko, Sagara Sanosuke, or Takani Megumi, she was learning how to get stronger, and she knew she was succeeding at it. Kaoru couldn't hold back the grin that spread from ear to ear thinking about what Kenshin would think when she got home and showed off her Battou Jutsu. He would totally flip out. She giggled with the cackling of the fire and wondered how her rurouni was doing, hoping that the time passing in the future was not as much as the time that was passing where she was, stuck. In the Past…

Not that Kaoru terribly minded. To be completely honest with herself, she was beginning to love her new Kenshin much more than the old one, and was frightened at what things would be like between her and her husband, ::cough:: erm…future husband when she got back there. It was hard for her to even accept that she had never even married the Kenshin she had originally met and fallen in love with, yet, here she was, with him, her Kenshin, all she had ever dreamed of…married, happy, stronger.  Although, it was a totally new and different, not to mention much younger him. But, the truth of the matter was…THIS was the true Kenshin. This is who he REALLY is, and had she not ever magically traveled back in time, she never would have found out what he's really like. But then…what makes a person who they are? Is it their life experiences…or is there a personality that you develop at a young age and it will always be your true self, just that some people hide whom they really are due to change and circumstance? Kaoru had to wonder. These emotions, they were so confusing to her, overwhelming in their confusion and inconsistency, but Kaoru had discovered in the beginning that the only way she would get through this would be to take things one day at a time, and not think to much about how things had to be changing. After all was said and done, she was having the time of her life, and she was deeply in love.

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Kenshin smiled at the warm glow emanating from his home he shared with his wife, Kaoru. God, how he loved her. He had been worried that he wouldn't make it home before dark, but thankfully he was able to get home just before the sun set. Quickly, he made his way inside, coming in from the bone chilling weather. Kaoru was curled up in a ball by the fire, napping. Kenshin smiled, she looked just like a little kitten. He quietly set down the food and supplies he had brought home as to not disturb her, and then slowly made his way over to the fire himself to be with her. He sat beside her curled up form and warmed his hands from the fire. Once warm, he stroked one hand over her angelic face, gently pushing her bangs back from her forehead. 'So peaceful…so serene…so beautiful…' he thought. 'I'm going to miss her **_so_** much…' Kaoru, as if sensing Kenshin's distress stirred in her sleep and slowly cracked open an eye. 

"Hey beautiful," Kenshin whispered to her.

Kaoru sleepily smiled. "hey yourself." She replied.

Kenshin leaned over and kissed her. "I missed you." He said afterwards.

"I missed you more. It's so boring around here without you." She said.

Kenshin frowned, and his eyes darkened.

Instantly, Kaoru knew something was wrong. Although it had been rare for her to see her husband's eyes darken, she knew all too well what yellow eyes meant from her experiences with a certain look-a-like rurouni. "Kenshin…what's wrong?" Kaoru asked, alarms going off everywhere inside of her head. She did not sense any ki nearby other than that of her husband, so she knew that there was no outside threat, there was something that was bothering him. Something was definitely NOT right, and she was afraid. Afraid of loosing Kenshin.

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AN: Gomen nasai!!! I honestly did not mean for this chapter to take so long to get out. I have been experiencing INTENCE writer's block for chapters 11, and now this chapter. However, I think my writer's block may be over, for at least a couple of chapters. I hope. Anyhow, I was so worried that this chapter would be a big flop, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Does anyone know what Kenshin is so upset about? I foreshadowed it a bit, lemme know what you think!

As always, reviews are very much appreciated!! They honestly keep me going! ;D

Lesly – I'm expecting to see the next chapter of your ficcy now!! I did my part, now you do yours!! ::hehe:: I just love your ficcy!!!

Take Care Minna-san,

Bunny ;D


	13. Going Back

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

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Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"Hey beautiful," Kenshin whispered to her.

Kaoru sleepily smiled. "hey yourself." She replied.

Kenshin leaned over and kissed her. "I missed you." He said afterwards.

"I missed you more. It's so boring around here without you." She said.

Kenshin frowned, and his eyes darkened.

Instantly, Kaoru knew something was wrong. Although it had been rare for her to see her husband's eyes darken, she knew all too well what yellow eyes meant from her experiences with a certain look-a-like rurouni. "Kenshin…what's wrong?" Kaoru asked, alarms going off everywhere inside of her head. She did not sense any ki nearby other than that of her husband, so she knew that there was no outside threat, there was something that was bothering him. Something was definitely NOT right, and she was afraid. Afraid of loosing Kenshin.

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Chapter Thirteen

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"Kaoru," Kenshin began and then took a deep sigh. "I don't know how to tell you this, but…I have to go back soon."

"What do you mean 'you have to go back?' Go back where Kenshin?" Kaoru asked, quite puzzled.

Kenshin could hear the panic in her voice. 'This is not going very well…' he thought to himself. "Kaoru, sweetheart, calm down," he soothed petting her hair once again. 

Suddenly, Kaoru grabbed both of his hands in an iron-like grip. "Kenshin…" she began, her eyes wide as saucers, tears beginning to cascade out the bottoms, "do you mean…" she choked for a second and began again. "Kenshin, do you mean that you have to go back to war? Do you mean that you have to go back to fight with the Inshinshishi?" she asked, her voice low, barely above a whisper.

Kenshin broke his eye contact with his wife and looked to the floor. "Yes…Katsura-sama has regrouped the Inshinshishi and it's time for their assassin to return to his work." He answered just as quietly. "When I was in town, I ran into the informant, he had been looking for me, and gave me the news. They will be coming to get me at the end of the week."

When he looked up again, he noticed that Kaoru had started crying, silently. Very much unlike the other times Kenshin had seen her in tears, usually she wailed, and this disturbed him to his very core. "Kaoru…" he choked out, gathering her up in his arms.

Kaoru just continued to silently cry for what seemed like hours. "Do…do we have to go?" she finally stuttered out.

Kenshin's eyes thinned into slits. "What do you mean by 'we,' Kaoru?" he demanded, pulling her away far enough to look into her eyes, hoping that she didn't mean what he thought she did.

"I mean do **_WE_** have to go…what do you think I meant?" she replied heatedly.

Kenshin released her and stood. "NO! You aren't coming with me – its way to dangerous, I won't allow anything to happen to you!" he said, raising his voice.

Kaoru stood to. "What are you talking about?!?" she exclaimed in hysterics. "You most definitely are NOT going without me!! There is no way that I'm staying here Himura Kenshin, while you're off splitting people in half and chopping off their heads do you understand me!!" she yelled.

Kenshin growled in frustration. "You are so frustrating sometimes!!" he yelled to her throwing his arms up in the air.

"Kenshin! Why do you think I've been training so hard for the past 9 months!??! I needed to get stronger, and I'm ready!! I can take care of myself!!" she said, trying to go about it from a different angle.

"WHAT!" Kenshin yelled even more upset than before. "You're training is NOT even close to being completed!! You won't even KILL anybody!! That's way to dangerous! You are not ready for combat Kaoru, forget it." He finished.

Kaoru stamped her foot, her anger getting the better of her and blew up. "Well YOUR TRAINING ISN'T COMPLETE EITHER YOU BAKA!!" she yelled.

Kenshin's eyes returned to their usual purple hue, his anger abating, as he was taken aback at her knowledge of his training. "How—how do you know that?" he asked, suddenly uncertain of himself.

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "As always, you are forgetting that I know you VERY WELL in the future."

Kenshin paused to digest what she had just said. "So, I never finished my training huh? I didn't think Hiko-sensei would take me back…" he mumbled to himself, lost in thoughts of his own past.

"No, Kenshin, you do finish your training." Kaoru answered lowering her voice back to normal decibels. "You go back, even after knowing me." She added. 'Can't have Kenshin never going back to see Hiko-sama' she said to herself.

"Really?" he asked, his voice taking on much hope.  Kaoru nodded.  "That's wonderful!" he exclaimed. 

Kaoru couldn't help but smile at his happiness, despite their arguing. She turned around and made her way to the door of their bedroom, figuring they could discuss the matter further in the morning, she was tired, she wanted to go to bed. When she reached the door, she turned back to her husband who was still grinning over the news. "Kenshin…" she called to him.

Kenshin looked up at her smiling form in the doorway, and smiled back. "I love you." He said. Kaoru smiled.  Kenshin's eyes suddenly widened. He gulped. "Um…Kaoru…" he began. 

"Yes?" she asked.

Kenshin started taking quick strides across the room towards her. "When you first came here you said a bright white light took you right?!?!?" he asked hurriedly.

Kaoru's own eyes began to widen in realization. 'Oh God!! I'm standing at a door!!' she exclaimed to herself as Kenshin reached her, she saw the light enveloping her body.

"NO!!!" They both screamed out at the same time.

"I want to stay with YOU!!" Kaoru yelled to him, grabbing out for his arms, hoping they would keep her with her beloved.

"Kaoru!! I promise, you can come with me, just stay please!!" Kenshin yelled also reaching out to her, and already contacting with nothing.

Kaoru smiled at him, as she began to fade into the light. "I love you!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining all her love for him, her arms still outstretched towards him, wishing she could stay.

"NO! Kaoru, don't leave me!!" Kenshin yelled, but when he finished, there was nothing, just the paper screen door, and the faint scent of…jasmine.

"You can't go…" he whispered to the door, a lone tear falling from his violet eyes "you – you - you haven't finished your training yet." He choked out and fell on the floor sobbing. 

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When the bright light disappeared, Kaoru found herself in her bedroom again, standing in front of her door. She blinked a couple of times, her eyes adjusting to the contrast of the night from the bright light she had been enveloped in. It was the same time of day as it had been in the past she noted, and that frightened her greatly, knowing that meant that she may have been gone from her present day for the full 9 and a half months she had been in the past. She reached out towards the door, deciding to head towards Kenshin's room, in hopes of finding him still alive and well, and most importantly, there.

"Kaoru, is that really you?" an unbelieving voice called out softly.  Kaoru stopped dead in her tracks. It was Kenshin!! 'Oh God!! He's still here and alive!!' she exclaimed in her head as she quickly whirled around to find him laying on her bed, a look of disbelief on his face, as if he thought he was dreaming.

She noticed him slapping himself as she rushed over to hug him. She reached the bed and jumped on him, throwing her arms around him, tears of joy escaping from her eyes. "Oh Kenshin!" she exclaimed. "I was so afraid that I wouldn't ever see you ever again!"

Kenshin, also crying by now, said, "Kaoru – my Kaoru – Please tell me this isn't a dream."

Kaoru pulled back slightly, pinched him and said "This isn't a dream, I'm really home."

Kenshin pulled her close to him again. "It seems like you have been gone forever, what happened to you, Kaoru? Why did you just appear in a bright light?"

Kaoru pulled away again, so she could see him while she talked. "First, tell me, how long have I been gone?"

Kenshin sniffed. "About…um…9 and a half days."

Kaoru smiled, relieved.  "Kaoru…why are you smiling? I've been in living hell for 9 days and all you do is smile?" Kenshin exclaimed frowning.

Kaoru frowned and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Kenshin, I'm just happy that I wasn't gone as long here as I actually was gone."

"What?" Kenshin asked, startled by her answer. "How long were you really gone?" 

"About 9 and a half **_months_**," she replied.

Kenshin grinned. "So, that makes you 20 now right?"

Kaoru giggled. "Yes, I'm 20 now, but that's besides the point." She said, trying to get back to the subject at hand, what had happened to her.

Kenshin laughed with her, but after remembering their situation, he sobered. "So, where were you for all that time? I hope you weren't as miserable as I was these past few days."

Kaoru frowned. "Well, it's a long story, but…" Kaoru paused "…I was in the past." She finished in a whisper.

"What?!!???" Kenshin exclaimed.

"You're past, to be exact." Kaoru added, still whispering.

"ORO!!!" Kenshin exclaimed and passed out in shock.

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A/N: Well, that's it for chapter 13. I hope everyone still likes the story. I bet this chapter answered A LOT of people's questions ne? :D Don't even think for one second that this ficcy is over though, there is still a lot more!! Like…what happens to Kenshin in the past? What changes happened in Kaoru's real time? And what is the meeting between the Kenshin who's already been w/ the future Kaoru going to be like with his real Kaoru?

They will all be answered…in chapters to come.

Please leave me some feedback!!!

Also, many many thankies to the following:

Rurouni Angel

Lesly

Karen

Jo

Vanessa

Almira

And Azuka from FanFiction.net You guys left the most encouraging comments since chapter 11 was posted :D

And many many thankies to:

Meseta

Solace_no_tenshi

And Michiru from MediaMiner.org for reviewing my story at all since most mediaminer readers don't review ;D

Hope everyone is still excited about reading more of my ficcy! ;D

Also please check out my RK webbie!! 

http://clik.to/dreamsofrk

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D


	14. Back to old Tricks with a Twist

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

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Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Kenshin laughed with her, but after remembering their situation, he sobered. "So, where were you for all that time? I hope you weren't as miserable as I was these past few days."

Kaoru frowned. "Well, it's a long story, but…" Kaoru paused "…I was in the past." She finished in a whisper.

"What?!!???" Kenshin exclaimed.

"You're past, to be exact." Kaoru added, still whispering.

"ORO!!!" Kenshin exclaimed and passed out in shock.

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Chapter Fourteen

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Kaoru giggled at Kenshin's antics. It was funny, but she really missed the older Kenshin's odd, yet cute mannerisms…like his Oro's, she just hadn't realized it until just now. Kaoru shrugged to herself, figuring she never had the time to miss her real Kenshin after she started to form a relationship with his past self, there was too much new stuff for her to learn. And Kaoru well knew that she would never have been able to learn those things about Kenshin if she hadn't gone to the past. So since she was given the opportunity to learn about his "other half, "the part of him that was once known as Battousai, and so she had hung on his every word and action. Her Kenshin would never open up that part of himself to her…or would he? Well, maybe now he would that things had changed…or had they? He didn't seem to remember his new past with her. Was there some sort of delay on these things or something? Kaoru sighed. Only God knows…with that thought, Kaoru leaned over and gave the still unconscious rurouni half of her, well, whatever he is to her, a kiss and decided to go hunt down Yahiko and the others to let them know she was back home. Kenshin would come around soon enough.

Upon exiting her bedroom, Kaoru noticed the sun just about to set outside. It was getting dark and she needed to tell the others quickly and head back to Kenshin before he woke and worried about her, or worse, thought she hadn't really come back and run off over the craziness of it all. To Kaoru's good fortune, Yahiko was right outside her door.

"Kaoru!!" he exclaimed upon seeing her coming out of her bedroom. 'Kaoru's back!! Oh My God!! How did she get in her bedroom without me seeing her?' Yahiko wondered to himself.

"Yahiko-chan!!" Kaoru exclaimed, and quickly pulled Yahiko into a big bear hug.

Yahiko didn't even mind Kaoru calling him a –chan….well, just this once, only because he had missed his sensei. He also let it slip that she had just hugged him…actually, no, forget that, this old hag was cutting off his life's breath.

"Kaoru!! Let go of me!! I can't breathe you old hag!" Yahiko exclaimed.

Kaoru stopped hugging Yahiko and laughed. "It's good to see some things never change, Yahiko-**_chan_**" Kaoru happily replied, this time, egging him on. 

"UGLY!!" Yahiko yelled to her, only too happy to comply with her taunts at a good run around the property, and possibly a whack on the head at the end of it all.

"What was that you said?!?!?" Kaoru yelled to him d-eyed, only too happy to continue.

"I said UGLY, because you are an ugly old HAG!" Yahiko chanted, already starting to run away from her.

Kaoru was only too happy to chase her only student around the dojo like a mad woman. 

What threw Yahiko was the speed at which Kaoru was moving. 'What in the world happened to HER?' he asked himself as Kaoru effortlessly caught up with him. In no time, Yahiko found himself turning back to her and bracing for impact, only to look up to see Kaoru flying at him in the air while drawing what strangely looked like a SAKABATOU?!?!? "RYU TSUI SEN!!!" Kaoru belted out delivering the blow to Yahiko's unsuspecting head.

Kaoru was shocked to see the body of her student crumple to the ground. Blink. Blink. 'That never happens to Kenshin,' she thought to herself. Then reason caught up with her. 'KAORU NO BAKA!!! That's because Kenshin knows what's coming, and he's almost a master of Hiten Mitsurugi!!' her mind screamed at her. "Oh, God!!" Kaoru exclaimed as she threw her sword to the side and collapsed next to Yahiko, cradling his head in her lap.

~ Meanwhile ~

Kenshin came to, in Kaoru's bedroom, finally getting over the initial shock of not only seeing Kaoru for the first time in 9 days, but her telling him that she had been in his past. 'How in the world did that woman end up in my past?' he wondered to himself. 'And if she did go to my past, then why don't I remember it?' he wondered. "UGLY!! HAG!!" Kenshin heard Yahiko chanting from what sounded like outside, in the yard, jarring him out of his thoughts. Kenshin grinned and stepped outside to enjoy the antics of teacher and student that he hadn't had the privilege of witnessing for what seemed like way to long. Upon stepping outside, Kenshin saw Kaoru flying through the air, and with "god-like" speed seeming quite like his own, draw a sakabatou, wait…what is Kaoru doing with a sakabatou? Kenshin quickly confirmed that his own sword was in fact at his side by feeling for it, not taking his eyes off of his fiancée. "RYU TSUI SEN!!" Kenshin heard Kaoru cry out while perfectly completing the attack on Yahiko. 

To say that Kenshin was shocked would be an understatement. Not in 10 lifetimes would he have ever pictured seeing his wife using his own swordsman technique.  'How did Kaoru learn my technique?' he wondered.  He watched silently as Kaoru, who seemed to be in less shock than him quickly screamed out something and dropped next to her student, immediately feeling for a pulse to ensure that he was still alive.  Kaoru was still cradling Yahiko's head, her back to him when she furiously yelled out, "Kenshin!! Get over here and help me already!!"

He blinked a couple of times at Kaoru and then walked down towards the front gate where they were on the ground. Kenshin knelt down next to Kaoru and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.  She looked up at Kenshin and blinked a couple of times at him.

"He will be fine, heaven knows I've been knocked out by that very attack by Hiko-sama more than enough times to know," he paused "how did you know I was there?" he asked quietly, as if he was almost afraid of what her answer would be.

Kaoru grinned through her slightly watery eyes. "You taught me how to sense ki's too. And of course, I'm **_very_** familiar with yours, although…it has changed a little over the years." She replied with a smirk.

Once again in the short period of time that Kaoru had returned, Kenshin found his eyes bugging out. "ORO!" he couldn't help but exclaim when he found his voice.

Kaoru giggled. "I have a lot of things to tell you I guess. I had been hoping that you would remember," Kaoru trailed off, a frown forming on her beautiful face as she began to hoist up Yahiko to carry him back to his room.

"Remember teaching you how to sense ki's?" Kenshin questioned with a tone of how ridiculous it must have all seemed to him as he grabbed Yahiko's feet to help Kaoru carry him.

"Well, yeah…that…and uh, everything else." Kaoru mumbled to him, and then began to blush profusely.

Kenshin couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow up at her tone of voice and redness of face. Kaoru looked up and caught Kenshin's expression, and looked down at Yahiko again, unable to stop herself from blushing even harder. They stepped into Yahiko's room and gently placed him on his futon.

"Ok Kaoru, time to tell me exactly what you have been up to while you were gone." Kenshin said as they exited Yahiko's bedroom and began to walk back to Kaoru's room.

Kaoru got a sly smile on her face. "Well, you see Kenshin," she began, and then paused. "Oh, I forgot my sakabatou out by the front." She said. "I'll be right back, I want to go fetch it." She began to quickly jog out towards the front to get it.

Kenshin followed her, and noticed that the sun had finally set, making it difficult to make Kaoru out through the slight darkness. Then he heard it, she gasped. He felt the rise in her ki and instinctively he ran towards her and stopped right behind her as she stared at the front gate. Following to where her eyes were looking, only a foot in front of her, Kenshin saw what had made her gasp so loudly. Kenshin had to pause himself for a moment…'ARE MY EYES PLAYING TRICKS ON ME?!?!?' his mind screamed at him…

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A/N:

Ok, I hope everybody hates me now ::wink::

I'm wanted to continue…but…this was just too good of a place to stop…::heheh::

Anyhow…I'm think that if you loved this chapter…just you wait, cuz what I have in store for you will knock your socks off. (ok, that's a corny expression O.o) Those of you who are also reading "Always There for Me" my very first RK fic. Yes, I AM working on Chapter 14, and it's going to be great, I'm just so stuck in this story right now that I can't get it quite the way I want it yet, but I will be updating it soon okies?

Thankies again to minna-chan who have reviewed my story on ff.net, mediaminer.org and on my own humble RK webbie. It's the comments that really keep me writing and going on with this totally insane out of control fanfiction.

Yes, I know that most everyone is OOC, but hey – people change and stuff ya know? ^_^;; I'm doing this all on purpose, it adds to the greater good – my storyline O.o;;

Ok, ok, enough rambling. Lesly – I'm still waiting on that next chapter…and can I please post your ficcy on my website?

Till next time minna-chan,

Bunny ;D

P.s. Don't forget to REVIEW!! ONEGAI!!

http://clik.to/dreamsofrk


	15. Unexpected Arrivals

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

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Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"Ok Kaoru, time to tell me exactly what you have been up to while you were gone." Kenshin said as they exited Yahiko's bedroom and began to walk back to Kaoru's room.

Kaoru got a sly smile on her face. "Well, you see Kenshin," she began, and then paused. "Oh, I forgot my sakabatou out by the front." She said. "I'll be right back, I want to go fetch it." She began to quickly jog out towards the front to get it.

Kenshin followed her, and noticed that the sun had finally set, making it difficult to make Kaoru out through the slight darkness. Then he heard it, she gasped. He felt the rise in her ki and instinctively he ran towards her and stopped right behind her as she stared at the front gate. Following to where her eyes were looking, only a foot in front of her, Kenshin saw what had made her gasp so loudly. Kenshin had to pause himself for a moment…'ARE MY EYES PLAYING TRICKS ON ME?!?!?' his mind screamed at him…

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Chapter Fifteen

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But then…he smelled it, that unforgettable scent…White Plum. It **_was_**…it was, she… Not for the first time that night, Kenshin's eye's bugged out. 'BUT, BUT, Tomoe is DEAD. I of all people would know, I killed her!! I burned her corpse and everything, this is impossible….isn't it?' he thought frantically, wondering if he had lost his mind, or was hallucinating.  He could still remember it as clearly as the moment it had happened, yet here she was standing there. Looking at them, with a smile on her face.

"Hi, guys…" Tomoe said quietly raising her eyebrow at Kenshin's expression, lord, if the man didn't look like he'd just seen a ghost.

"T—T—Tomoe," Kenshin squeaked out. "W-w-what are you doing here?" he asked completely dumbfounded. Then finding his voice. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE D---MUMPH." He yelled as Kaoru quickly turned and covered his mouth before he said anything stupid. She gave him a warning look and then turned back to Tomoe, a bright smile on her face. 

"Tomoe-chan!!" she exclaimed as she opened the gate to let her old friend in, giving the older girl a tight squeeze. "Don't mind Kenshin, he's just in shock at seeing you here!" Kaoru continued noting how correct she truly was if Kenshin still didn't remember his new past.

Tomoe hugged her friend back and let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. "I was worried that you didn't recognize me for a minute there," She confessed to Kaoru conversationally. She turned back and looked at Kenshin. "Although you're husband seemed to remember me, but you know," she paused and winked at Kaoru "I suppose, I would never forget someone's face if they had given me a big scar on my cheek too." She grinned at Kaoru as Kaoru started laughing from nervousness.

"Hey." Kenshin growled from behind them, stopping their laughter. They both paused and turned to face him. "That's **_not_** funny." He said glaring daggers at Kaoru.

Tomoe's eyes slightly watered at his tone of voice and his look. "Himura-san, I thought you weren't sore about me cutting your face?" she asked him directly. 

Kenshin turned his gaze to look at his x-supposed to be dead- wife and wondered if he was going insane? Not only was she here, and alive and well, she of course looked older, as he did, but she was ALIVE. And if that wasn't enough, she had referred him as Kaoru's husband, not hers. Yet, she still talks about the X scar she had completed on his face as if it was old news, and that everything was all well with the world. 'WELL IT'S NOT ALL HUNKY DOREY OK? That's it…time for some answers' he decided he'd had enough of surprises and guessing games for one day. Kenshin looked back at his "wife" and gave her a 'give me an explanation and it better be good,' look. 

'Now what genius?' Kaoru asked herself at Kenshin's look. He looked like he was going to take off somebody's head, and that somebody was her. 'I guess he's not as different as I thought' she noted at the similarity to his behavior when he was younger. She sweat drop grinned at Kenshin and wished she had ESP so she could just tell him to hold on a little longer and all his questions would be answered. Then, pleading with her eyes for him to hold off on the chopping off of her head, she turned her attention back to her friend. "Tomoe-chan, let me get you inside and make you some tea. I hope you are planning on staying with us here at the dojo while you are visiting Japan? Or did you move back here already?" Kaoru questioned.

Tomoe smiled. "Well, Kaoru-chan, believe it or not, I came all the way back to Japan just to see you two. You know, I never forgot you guys and what you did for me, Kaoru-chan. I'm so happy in China, but I do miss it here sometimes. Speaking of, you don't look a day older than I last saw you, how on earth did you stay looking so young Kaoru-chan. You have to tell me your secret!!" Tomoe finished as she followed Kaoru into the kitchen.

"Oh…well, I don't know. I really haven't changed much at all since I last saw you, you know, it seems as if it was just yesterday." Kaoru faked a laugh as she replied to Tomoe's question about her appearance. 'Yeah, no kidding! I don't look a day older because I barely am! Not even a year has passed since that incident at the inn.' Kaoru said to herself, noting the irony of it all. 'And poor Kenshin! He must feel like he's seen a ghost, he has no idea what's going on. WHY DOESN'T HE REMEMBER?!?!?!?!!!! How can Tomoe be here and Kenshin not remember the new past events? Oh God, help me! Help us all!!' Kaoru thought with desperation. 'And what if Kenshin decides he wants to go back to Tomoe?' Kaoru instantly became jealous and almost started crying as she began to boil the water for the tea.

Kenshin sighed in defeat and followed the women into the kitchen, figuring Kaoru would need his help if she was going to attempt to make tea anyhow. He entered the kitchen and noted Kaoru boiling the water. It appeared as though she had begun to make rice ball snacks as well, and she looked like she knew what she was doing? 'What happened to her in the past? And …what happened to me?' Kenshin wondered. He glanced at Tomoe who had already kneeled by the table 'And, God – what the hell happened to Tomoe!!! This is insanity. My entire life…all the things I've known…have all changed almost over night and I no longer feel like I know who I am.' Kenshin started getting depressed remembering the fateful day he killed Tomoe, changing his life and his outlook on life forever, and now…by some miracle, it had been forgiven him, because, there she was, live and well. Not being able to stop himself, Kenshin kneeled at the table across from Tomoe and took her hand in his own hands.

Tomoe gasped at the contact Himura suddenly and without warning initiated. She looked up to his face questioning what was wrong, and saw a dozen emotions painfully displayed in his violet eyes. 

Kaoru hearing Tomoe's gasp looked up from her chore of making tea and rice balls to see Kenshin kneeling across from Tomoe holding her hand in his own. 'Oh no!! He's already starting to feel his attachment to her!' she cried to herself and felt the stabs of jealousy at her heart.

"Tomoe…" Kenshin began in a whisper. "I am so sorry for everything I've ever done to you. I'm just really happy to see that you are alive and well, and I'm really, really sorry Tomoe." He finished and started to silently cry.

Kaoru dropped the rice ball she was working on, it made a thump as it impacted with the floor. She had heard Kenshin's apology, every last heartfelt word, and it was tearing her up inside. 'Why?' her mind screamed. 'Why is he doing this to me? Why does it hurt so much? I've had more of Kenshin than 1,000 Tomoe's and yet, I'm still jealous…why? Why does this have to happen now? I knew something horrible would come of me going back in time…and now…here it is, right in front of my eyes.' Kaoru unconsciously let out a low growl to herself. 'The other Kenshin wouldn't have cared if Tomoe showed up one day!! The other Kenshin would have wanted to stay with me!! I want to go back to the past to be with him!!' her mind screamed in desperation. 'NO BAKA, that's no good either…you can't be in the middle of a war, wedded to the one known as hitokiri battousai, but how can it be so different for him? I thought that he was over her already…maybe I'm just overreacting…' her thoughts trailed off as Kenshin looked towards her in the kitchen, probably hearing the thump and low growl and wondering what the problem was. Kaoru scowled at him and furiously turned back to the food. She grabbed the already made rice balls and tea and brought them to the table on a tray. As she kneeled down at the head of the table, she watched as Tomoe took her other hand and placed it over Kenshin's. 

"It's ok, Himura-san, it's all in the past anyhow right? Really…that was years ago…and you and Kaoru-chan are my friends." Tomoe replied. She gave his hand a pat and then extracted her other hand and pulled away from him. Tomoe gave Kaoru a look like 'what's wrong with him?!?!'

Kaoru shrugged in response to Tomoe, and then glared daggers at Kenshin as she began to pour the tea.

'What is bothering Kaoru?' Kenshin silently asked, noticing the looks Kaoru had been giving him. He raised his eyebrow at her in question. Kaoru just continued to glare at him. Kenshin shrugged. "What's bothering you Kaoru?" he asked.

Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise that Kenshin asked her aloud. "What are you talking about?" she denied.

Kenshin figured she didn't want to talk about it just then. So he shrugged again. "Well, I'm going to bed. Good night," he said and exited the kitchen, heading to his room. Then on second thought, Kenshin headed to Kaoru's room, hoping he would have the chance to talk to her. 

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ 

Kenshin didn't have to wait long before Kaoru came into the room, quietly sliding the door behind her. She turned to Kenshin and gave him a sheepish grin.  "Ok, Kaoru, time to tell me about what happened." He sternly said to her, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Kaoru looked at Kenshin standing in the room with his arms crossed and grimaced. He reminded her so much of the part of him that was the assassin she met, when she first arrived in Kyoto. "Well, Kenshin, it all started the day of our wedding." Kaoru began.

"Right, I remember that, you disappeared just before the ceremony. What happened, honey?" Kenshin finished softly.

Kaoru looked taken aback for a moment. 'Well…he still considers me his love,' she thought. She smiled and sat down, motioning for Kenshin to do the same. He sat down next to her, his eyes still questioning. 'He looks exactly the same when I look into his eyes…' she thought and then burst out laughing, and crying at the same time. 

"What's wrong?" Kenshin asked, putting his arm around her.

"Oh nothing, you are just so much you, and I just am seeing the you in you, you know?" Kaoru said.

"What?" Kenshin asked, completely confused. 

Kaoru laughed again remembering her argument with her younger husband on the mountain, trying to say the same thing, and how he had given her the exact same expression. Kenshin glared at her. 'When is she going to tell me already?!!' he yelled in his mind.

Kaoru stopped laughing and began again. "Well, you see Kenshin, right as I was about to step outside, I was engulfed in a bright white light…just like when I came back here." She paused and Kenshin nodded that he got it, so she continued on. "I called out for you, but my scream was lost, because I had been transported, to another place, and as I later discovered, another time as well." She took a deep breath, and pushed on. "When I arrived, I was standing on the top of a long staircase…and there were samurai, with their swords drawn, going all the way down the staircase. Then I noticed that they were dropping –" 

"Dropping?" Kenshin asked cutting her off.

"Yes, they kept dropping to the ground, one after another. Then I saw it, there was this figure, flying up the staircase. It was blue and white, and I saw the flash of a blade as well, but this figure was moving too quickly for me to make it all out. All I noticed was that it was headed towards me, so I jumped off the stairs and hid behind a tree." 

"Kaoru, please tell me, that wasn't the night I think it was." Kenshin said interrupting her.

"It was." Kaoru answered.

"What did I do?!!!" he asked taking both of her hands, and look of worry on his face.

"Y-You called out to me, and then I gasped because I recognized your voice. And thenyouputyourswoardtomythroat." She said quickly. 

"ORO!!! I almost slit your THROAT!!" Kenshin exclaimed.

"Y-yes." Kaoru choked out.

"!!!!!!!" Kenshin just sat there stunned, and squeezed Kaoru's hands. He couldn't believe that he could have ever put a katana to Kaoru's throat, even if it was his past self.

Kaoru loosened the grip of Kenshin's hand, for a moment and trying to comfort him, she continued. "But, I said 'Kenshin?' to you and you backed off and demanded how I knew your name."

Kenshin smirked. "I totally flipped out on you didn't I?" he asked her.

Kaoru knowingly grinned back. "Yeah, pretty much. I noticed that your scar was a single slash and realized that I had somehow been transported to your past. Just as I was figuring this all out, you picked me up and dragged me back to the hideout at the inn, and started questioning me."

"Did you tell me who you really were?" Kenshin asked, and then jumping ahead of himself, he added "Is that why Tomoe thought that we were married when she got here!?! That's it isn't it! You went into my past and changed it all around. How could you do that to me?" he asked, getting a little angry with her. 

"Are you upset now, because she's alive and you can't be with her?" Kaoru asked, her own voice rising a little. 

"What!" Kenshin exclaimed back rising to his feet. He couldn't believe this. **_Never_** had he been in an argument like this with Kaoru, and it was un-nerving him to no end. Where did she get the idea in her head that he wanted to go back to Tomoe? True, Tomoe may have saved him in the Bakumatsu no Doran, but he was a different person then, now…Kaoru, she was his light of hope, his new life, and his true love, how could she discredit herself like that? Didn't she know how much he loved her?

"You heard me!!" she exclaimed. "Your mad aren't you!! Because she thinks we've been married for years, and now that she's alive and you don't remember what happened, you want to go back to her don't you!!" she accused, her eyes flashing. 

Kenshin threw his arms up in disgust at her behavior. "It's NOT LIKE THAT!!" he yelled and then quickly exited the room, slamming the paper screen door behind him as he slid it closed. He walked out to the courtyard of the property, wanting to have a chance to gather his thoughts. He wanted to explain to Kaoru that he didn't have those kinds of feelings for a Tomoe that was completely different from his Tomoe, and that even if his Tomoe was around, she, Kaoru, his Kaoru, sweet carefree Kaoru, would be the only one for him. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and looked up at the stars wondering what he could say to make her understand.

Then Kenshin sensed it, a completely unfamiliar, and yet, strangely familiar ki…it was close by too. He averted his gaze from the nightly sky to inspect the grounds, to track down the person interrupting his thoughts. He didn't feel any hostility, but he was still leery, as always of strangers lurking around his property. He smiled to himself, His property. Yes, his and Kaoru's. "Where are you?" He called out. "You can come out now, I won't hurt you!" he yelled again. 

Then in his peripheral vision, he saw a figure step out of the shadows. "I wasn't worried about you hurting me." The figure replied.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ 

Ok, this seems to be a good stopping point. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I'm not telling!! I'm not telling!! =P 

I have so many ideas of where I want to go with this, and I'm sorry that it's taking me so long to get each chapter out, but I want it to be good, and I don't want to have bogus chapters ya know?

Anyhow, I wanted to say the following to a few reviewers:

Keao – sorry you didn't like the last chapter ^_^;; I tried…

Omochi – thanks for not ruining it for everybody J

sync*in – r u going to say the same thing this time? I'm just full of surprises huh?

Lesly – Okies, here is the next chapter, common girl, where is yours already? I'm dying!!!! I want to know what happens next, and I did post your ficcy on my webbie, I'm soooo happy you let me ;) Here is the URL if you wanna see it :D 

http://angelcities.com/members/littlebunny/fanfiction/

Firuze Khanume – thankies for your long comment. I think I got where you were going with most of it (time travel is soo complicated ^_^;; ) but you are on to something, however, the answers are coming!! In the next chapter ! :D

Rurouni Angel () - ::heheh:: I'm NOT TELLING!!! ::hehe::

And thanks to everyone else, because you are sooo encouraging to me!! I just love reviews, so please review this chapter too. I worked REALLY HARD ON IT!!

And Please visit my webbie!!

http://click.to/dreamsofrk 

Ja mata,

Bunny ;D


	16. A Reunion and a Challenge

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction by: bunny ;D

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Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"You heard me!!" she exclaimed. "Your mad aren't you!! Because she thinks we've been married for years, and now that she's alive and you don't remember what happened, you want to go back to her don't you!!" she accused, her eyes flashing. 

Kenshin threw his arms up in disgust at her behavior. "It's NOT LIKE THAT!!" he yelled and then quickly exited the room, slamming the paper screen door behind him as he slid it closed. He walked out to the courtyard of the property, wanting to have a chance to gather his thoughts. He wanted to explain to Kaoru that he didn't have those kinds of feelings for a Tomoe that was completely different from his Tomoe, and that even if his Tomoe was around, she, Kaoru, his Kaoru, sweet carefree Kaoru, would be the only one for him. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and looked up at the stars wondering what he could say to make her understand.

Then Kenshin sensed it, a completely unfamiliar, and yet, strangely familiar ki…it was close by too. He averted his gaze from the nightly sky to inspect the grounds, to track down the person interrupting his thoughts. He didn't feel any hostility, but he was still leery, as always of strangers lurking around his property. He smiled to himself, His property. Yes, his and Kaoru's. "Where are you?" He called out. "You can come out now, I won't hurt you!" he yelled again. 

Then in his peripheral vision, he saw a figure step out of the shadows. "I wasn't worried about you hurting me." The figure replied.

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Chapter Sixteen

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First, a brief A/N:

I would like to thank Gypsy-chan for giving me this idea. I just loved it sooo much I had to use it, although, I had already planned on having Tomoe come to visit.

- bunny ;D

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"H-how?" Kenshin asked in just barely more than a whisper.

"I don't know." The figure replied. 

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ 

Kaoru was crying softly in her bedroom, waiting for Kenshin to come back. 'That was really smart Kaoru no baka!!' she scolded herself. 'I totally over-reacted, I should have never said those kinds of things to Kenshin, he's not that kind of guy, and I know that.' Kaoru cried more, feeling so sorry for what she did. She collapsed on the bed and sobbed away. A few minutes passed and then Kaoru suddenly jerked up, her eyes dry, and then stood. She quickly, and stealthily made her way to the paper screen door, in a second. "Oh, God…he's here." She whispered to herself before running outside to the courtyard.

"Where's Kaoru?" she heard him say as she came into the clearing.

Before Kenshin could answer Kaoru appeared next to him, she had tears in her eyes.

"Kaoru!!" he exclaimed running the distance between himself and her and enfolding her in a deep embrace.

"Kenshin no Baka!!" Kaoru exclaimed throwing her arms around her younger husband as he reached her. He took her face in his hands and started planting kisses all over her face. While mumbling things to her like "Oh, I missed you so much." "Why did you have to leave me" "God!! I love you!!"

Kaoru couldn't say anything, she was just so happy to see her husband again and so stunned that he had somehow made it to the future to be with her.

(A/N: Now, just so we don't get confused. The younger Kenshin from the past will go by Battousai, and the older Kenshin of this time will just be Kenshin.) 

Kenshin stood in place for a few minutes, completely shell shocked at seeing his younger self, and then seeing him grab Kaoru and kiss her all over like that. Then he got mad. 'Why does he have to keep kissing her like that?!' he yelled in his head, getting more and more angry as they kept kissing and mumbling to each other like long lost lovers, completely IGNORING HIM, her REAL husband…or almost husband. Finally, Kenshin had had enough, and shaking himself out of his original stupor, snatched Kaoru out of Battousai's arms and brought her into his own.

"Hey, stop kissing my wife!" he yelled to his younger self.

"**_Your_** Wife?" Battousai growled back, immediately drawing his katana in a challenge to his older self. "She was MY wife before she was YOUR wife…rurouni." He added.

"No Way!!" Kenshin yelled back. "**I** was the one who met her!! She fell in love with **_ME_** not **_YOU_**." Kenshin snarled back. 

Kaoru looked from one Kenshin to the other. They looked so similar now that she could see them standing next to each other. Fighting over Her. It was so odd, seeing Kenshin like this. Of course she expected it out of Battousai, but Kenshin? Kaoru blinked a few times. 'Kenshin was always a little primitive though when it came to protecting me…but from himself?' she thought, completely bewildered. What was she supposed to do? Kaoru had no idea how Kenshin's past self was able to get to the future, or why he was there. He had his own Kaoru waiting for him, back in his own time. Kaoru was ecstatic to see him, but as much as she loved her younger husband of the past, she didn't want the Kaoru of the past to live without having ever known Kenshin. Not to mention that having two Kenshin's in one time? That's just plain insanity; especially if they wanted to fight over her…this situation was quickly getting out of control. 

Battousai gasped at Kenshin's comment, his eyes turning into amber slits. "So what!!" he yelled. "She loves me MORE. I did things for her, I spent time with her!! I didn't take a million years to tell her how I felt about her!!" He looked over at Kaoru "tell him, sweetheart." He said, inviting her into the conversation. "Tell him what we did together."

Kaoru's eyes widened in shock. 'Why is this happening?' her mind screamed at her. "Um…" she began looking at Kenshin. Then she turned to Battousai. "Kenshin…" she began, addressing Battousai. "I…how did you get here?" she asked, stepping out of Kenshin's arms and closer to Battousai.

"I don't know sweetheart, it was just like when you left…this bright white light encompassed me, and then I was standing at the front gate of the Dojo. I saw the sign, it said "Kamiya Dojo," and I remembered that your last name was Kamiya, before **WE**" he emphasized, looking over Kaoru and at Kenshin "got married. So then, I hoped it was your house…and that's when I, I mean, the other me, stormed outside, were you fighting with him?" he asked. Kaoru looked back at Kenshin and her eyes watered a little. Kenshin's eyes reflected her pain at their argument. Kaoru nodded. Battousai shot Kenshin a look like he was going to kill him. Kenshin shot back a look just as menacing. Then Battousai continued, "he was looking at the sky, and he yelled at me, so I came out of the shadows. I knew I had to be at your house, and I wanted to see you so desperately. Things have been so horrible for me since you left, Kaoru." He finished.

Kaoru burst into tears, and immediately both Kenshin's hugged her, one on either side of her. "Oh Kenshin, I'm so sorry that you have to go through all that without me. I wish I hadn't had to leave so suddenly when you were so upset about going back to be with the Ishinshishi. I had no control over it, and I was worried about you, the future you, the rurouni I had left behind here, my Kenshin." Kaoru sobbed into Battousai's gi.

"What do you mean **_your_** Kenshin? **_I'm_ **your Kenshin, Kaoru," Battousai whispered to her.

Kaoru noted the hurt in his voice, and bit her tongue from yelling to him that he has his own Kaoru to care for in his own time. 

"Kaoru?" Kenshin asked from behind her, tightening his grip around her waist. Kaoru turned her head to look at her sweet rurouni. He smiled at her. She had called HIM her Kenshin, not his younger self. Then Kaoru looked back at Battousai. Really, the only way to tell them apart was by their clothes, and their hair style. It was frightening, and wonderful all at the same time. She had two Kenshins, but it wasn't right, something needed to be said. Then turning back to Kenshin she whispered to him. "I didn't change your past, Kenshin, you did."

Kenshin's eyes widened, and then as if on instinct, he looked up to his younger self, questioning what he knew, and for the first time, meeting eyes with himself. Looking into his own eyes, memories started flooding his mind, intense visuals and conversations that had taken place:

~ Rushing up the stairs that night and seeing a figure duck out of view. ~ Calling out to her. ~ Finding himself with a katana to a beautiful woman's throat, in a wedding kimono, who knew him, although he had never seen her before. ~ 

~ Taking the woman to his room. ~ Questioning her. ~ Meeting her. ~ Wondering about her. ~ Holding her as she cried to him all night. ~

~ Tomoe appeared. He told her he was married to Kaoru. ~ Kaoru denying it. ~ Giving Kaoru a warning look. ~ Tomoe leaving. ~ Kaoru hitting him on the head. ~ Stopping her. ~ Kaoru gloating over the ORO thing. ~

~ Seeing Kaoru and Tomoe giggling together in the hallway at the inn. ~ Watching Kaoru sleep and loving her already. ~ Being angry with Kaoru for saying that he was her best friend, and not her lover. ~ Kaoru confessing her relationship with him in the future. ~ 

~ Tomoe coming and cutting his face. ~ Kaoru trying to tell him that he was supposed to be married to Tomoe. ~ Tomoe leaving for China. ~ Kaoru crying to him. ~

~ Running through Kyoto with Kaoru by his side. ~ Being angry with her for not listening to him. ~ Her HELPING him in battle. ~ Katsura telling them to go live in the mountains. ~ 

~ Convincing Kaoru to marry him. ~ Kaoru crying during the marriage ceremony. ~ The argument over his future self on the way up the mountain. ~ The pain of feeling like she didn't love him. ~ Their first night in bed as a married couple. ~ 

~ Teaching her how to cook. ~ Waking up alone. ~ Convincing her to let him teach her Hiten Mitsurugi. ~ Watching her sleep. ~ Arguing over using a katana or a bokken and settling on a sakabatou. ~ Going to bed during the day. ~ Pushing her more and more in her training. ~ Kisses while teaching her how to cook. ~ Planting in their garden. ~ Going into town together. ~ Loving her. ~ Caring for her when she exhausted herself in her training. ~ Sleeping with her. ~ Teaching her about ki. ~ Kissing her. ~ Arguing with her about going back to war. ~ Kaoru leaving him…Kaoru yelling that she loved him…~

And then, as suddenly as the flashback images had begun, they stopped. Kenshin was still blushing furiously, over the visuals of their first night together, but he now remembered his new past. It was as if for a year of his life, he had lived two different lives. In one life, he was silently hurting and numb to it, briefly loved, and then sent into despair. In the other, he was silently hurting, and then caught completely off guard, and jarred from his current way of thinking, he had been intrigued, saved, loved, and then left...but with a hope…of meeting Kaoru again, and soon, and with his new past, it was as if he had just lived it. It was like it had just been the last few months of his life, although he knew that it had happened years ago. He smiled. Kaoru loved him…even when he was an assassin. He squeezed her again. Now, why was his past self here? And what were they going to do with him? Kenshin was not sure, even with the memories of Kaoru he just received from his younger self, he still didn't know how he got to the future, or why. He had to know. There was no way that he was going to lose **_his_** Kaoru. Especially not now, not now that she was truly his, even loving the side of him that he had always thought she would hate so much for his killing ways, and naïve ideals.

"So, why are you here?" he asked his younger self.

Battousai glared at him. "I'm here to get Kaoru, why else would I be here?" he replied.

"I'm very sorry, but my Kaoru is not going anywhere with you, she is staying here with me." Kenshin stated.

"I came here, to get her, I'm lost without her, and she's my only happiness." Battousai explained, hoping that his future self would give in.

"Aa." Kenshin agreed. "But Kaoru is all those things to me as well. You have your own Kaoru waiting for you in the past, you should go to her. But as for my Kaoru, she is staying here with me, where she belongs." 

Battousai growled. "No! She's just a baby still! I can't do that. I want **_MY_** Kaoru back and I want her now, don't make me fight you for her." He challenged, backing away and pushing Kaoru over to the side, he dropped into a Battou Jutsu stance, ready to attack his future self.

Kenshin frowned. He didn't expect his younger half to be so unreasonable, however, he was not yet a rurouni, and he did not suffer the loss of Tomoe, so he was in some ways a different person than himself. "I have no desire to fight myself. The last thing I want to do is knock myself out, even if you are a little different than me, we are still the same person. You must realize that this is insanity." Kenshin tried to reason with his younger half again.

"Shut up, rurouni!" Battousai yelled and began to draw his katana to attack.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

A/N: I suppose this is a good place to stop.

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! ;D

Just a few things:

Chocolate Star – Sorry about that…did I forget to mention that my ficcy wasn't complete when I told you to read it? I'm happy that you like it so far though ;D

Keao – Which website? I have so many ^_^;;

Here they are:

My Rurouni Kenshin site is:

~ Dreams of Rurouni Kenshin ~

The URL is http://clik.to/dreamsofrk

My Sailor Moon Websites are:

http://princessserenity.net

http://www.dreamwater.org/serenity

http://clik.to/sereendyshrine

My Jubei Chan Website is:

http://destined.to/lovelyeyepatch

My husband's website (that I update) which is an anime collective is: 

http://clik.to/animedomain

Ella – I dunno, It had to be a mystery how the time travel occurs, at least for now, because it's part of the story, sorry if you wanted more detail on that part.

sync*in – you said…"aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! you ahou!! how could you do this!! who is it??! im betting my life that its tomoe cuz she's still alive right?? or is it kaoru?? since her ki raised.. anyway, i love this fic." So I figured you would say the same thing since the cliffhanger was so similar ;) ::hehe::

And special thanks also to:

Rurouni Angel

Omochi

Angel

Moonlight^Angel

Crystal Okamino

Lesly

Bao Blossom

And Firuze Khanume 

For all your awesome reviews ;)

Till next time ;D

Bunny ;D


	17. Setting Matters Straight

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"I came here, to get her, I'm lost without her, she's my only happiness." Battousai explained, hoping that his future self would give in.

"Aa." Kenshin agreed. "But Kaoru is all those things to me as well. You have your own Kaoru waiting for you in the past, you should go to her. But as for my Kaoru, she is staying here with me, where she belongs." 

Battousai growled. "No! She's just a baby still! I can't do that. I want **_MY_** Kaoru back and I want her now, don't make me fight you for her." He challenged, backing away and pushing Kaoru over to the side, he dropped into a Battou Jutsu stance, ready to attack his future self.

Kenshin frowned. He didn't expect his younger half to be so unreasonable, however, he was not yet a rurouni, and he did not suffer the loss of Tomoe, so he was in some ways a different person than himself. "I have no desire to fight myself. The last thing I want to do is knock myself out, even if you are a little different than me, we are still the same person. You must realize that this is insanity." Kenshin tried to reason with his younger half again.

"Shut up, rurouni!" Battousai yelled and began to draw his katana to attack.

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Chapter Seventeen

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With his trademark god-like speed, Kenshin successfully blocked the attack thrown by his younger self.  Keeping on the defensive, he continued to block each attack and reason with him at the same time.

"Stop this!  This is completely ridiculous!!" he yelled while blocking yet another attack.

"I don't want to hear what you have to say about it.  I need her way more than you do OK?" Battousai yelled back while attacking his future self yet again.

"You don't know Kaoru like you think you do!  Do you really believe that she would go back with you if she even **_could_** if you **killed** _me_ in order to accomplish that?" Kenshin tried yet again to reason with him.

"Kenshin's right Kenshin!!" Kaoru yelled.  'O_o;;  what was THAT baka! How are they supposed to know what you mean when you yell out crap like that?' Kaoru berated herself.  "I mean…My Kenshin is right Young Hitokiri Battousai!!"  Kaoru tried again.  '-_-;; That was even worse you moron!!  Now Kenshin isn't going to think you love him anymore!  WHY does this have to be such a delicate situation!! I'm NO GOOD AT THIS!!' Kaoru screamed in her head as the younger Kenshin ceased his attacks and turned to look at Kaoru, heartbroken.  The older Kenshin returned his sakabatou into his sheath and looked at Kaoru, with a look almost as heartbroken as his younger self.

'Kaoru-koishii did not say what I think she just said did she?' Kenshin asked himself.  He looked at her with great puzzlement.  'I thought she might have loved the real me there for a minute…' he thought sadly.

Battousai looked shattered.  'Kaoru…she – she doesn't really love me does she?  She only loves me after I've changed, in the future…all that time…she didn't even care about me did she?  She just wanted to come back…back to him.' He glanced at his future self with intense hatred.  'Why? Why does it have to be like this?  Couldn't she have loved me at least just a little?' he asked himself.

'Oh Kenshin!! You look like someone just killed your favorite dog!  I HAVE TO FIX THIS!!' Kaoru thought to herself.  She ran to the younger Kenshin and put her arms around him.  "I'm sorry Kenshin!! I didn't mean it, I take it back!! You know I love you right?" she pleaded with him.

Battousai growled and removed her arms from his neck and pushed her away.  "LIAR!!" he yelled to her.  "You are a liar Kaoru!! You never loved me!! You always wanted to go back to the future to be with your precious rurouni!! I thought maybe you had loved me too, but I was wrong!!" 

Kaoru's eyes spilled with silent tears.  "How – How could you say that?" she asked him in barely more than a whisper.  "HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT TO ME!!" she yelled at him before turning and running away.  

"Now you've really done it, Himura-san." Came a voice from the porch.

Both Kenshin's turned to see Tomoe standing there with a disgusted look on her face.

"Tomoe" they said in unison.

Tomoe crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the two of them.  "Well…" she paused and lifted an eyebrow at them wondering if either would chose to do the right thing without her telling them. Neither responded, they just stared at her, hoping maybe she had the answers.  "Are you going to run after her and tell her you're sorry or what?"  she asked them both. 

'Should I?' Kenshin asked himself.  'Should I run after her?  She doesn't really want to hear it from me…does she? She wants to hear it from the other me…the one she loves…her lover…she doesn't know…she doesn't know that I remember…I could tell her…but then…do I really want to go talk to her anyways?'  Kenshin was torn.  Part of him wanted to run after her, and yet, another part of him was just as hurt as his younger self.  He felt the same emotions as his younger self did, heartbreak, betrayal, guilt, and most of all, a deep loss and yearning.  True, Kaoru might love him, the him he was now…but he didn't know if he could live with it if Kaoru didn't love the other half of him as well.  He turned to look at his younger self, wondering what to do.

Battousai turned to Kenshin.  "Well, now what?" he asked his older self, hoping that perhaps he had the answers he was seeking.  'Did Kaoru love him just as much as the rurouni he becomes in the future?  Was she mad at him, or did he truly hurt her feelings?  Would she ever speak to him again?'  

Kenshin saw the questions swimming in the violet eyes of his younger self and didn't know what to say, so he shrugged.  "I…I don't know…Kaoru-koishii…" he began and then trailed off, not finishing his thought aloud.  Battousai knew what he was thinking anyways.  After all, they ARE the same person.

Tomoe had had enough.  She ran down the steps into the courtyard where the two had been fighting and grabbed both of them by their ponytails and swung them in the direction Kaoru had ran off to.  "Listen you jerk!! You're going to fix this!! You got that?!  It's YOUR fault that Kaoru-chan is upset!! She LOVES YOU!!" she yelled.

Both of them stopped and turned to her.

"No she doesn't!!" Battousai said at the same time that Kesnhin said "Do you really think so Tomoe-dono?"

Tomoe threw her hands in the air in frustration.  NEVER had she lost her temper like this before.  SHE was a lady, a very distinguished lady, graceful, mannerly, non-violent, all these things.  But, they had made Kaoru-chan upset.  She loved Kaoru-chan!! She was like a sister to her, and she just couldn't bare it that they could hurt her like that.  She completely lost her cool and blew up at them.

"YOU!!" she yelled pointing at Battousai.  "How can you say that?!?!!!  You know she loves you!! Don't you remember how much she cared for you when we were all at the inn in Kyoto?  She was so sweet to you, she tried to protect you and everything!!  She attacked me for trying to slice your face!! Don't you remember?  She would die for you that girl would!!"

Battousai's expression darkened even more.  His eyes took on an amber hue.  He was mad…he was mad at himself for saying those things, he was mad at Karou for not choosing between them, and most of all he was mad at this infernal woman who had to be right about all this.

"AND YOU!!" Tomoe turned her attention to Battousai's older self and began to reprimand him as well.  "YOU!! You've lived with the woman for 2 years, YOU led her on for most of them…EVEN LEFT HER ONCE!!! You profess to love and protect her, and yet how quickly you question her love for you!!"

"ORO!!" Kenshin exclaimed and fell over.

Battousai looked to the ground at his older self and mumbled something like "how could Kaoru ever have fallen in love with a baka like you."

"I heard that." Kenshin growled at his younger self while picking himself up off the ground.  Once up, he directed his attention to Tomoe.  "Tomoe-dono…how did you know all that stuff about me and Kaoru?" he questioned her.

Tomoe blushed.  "Well, actually…when Kaoru-chan was in the past…with my younger self, and him" she said gesturing to Battousai. "She told me of some of the things that had happened to you two.  I didn't know that she was from the future at the time…but…then when I came out here, and I heard the 3 of you talking…and I saw for myself you and your younger self, I put two and two together, and I knew that all those stories Kaoru had told me had been about you." She said pointing to the older Kenshin.

Battousai glanced from Kenshin to Tomoe and back again.  Then he scowled.  "HEY!" he said jabbing Kenshin in the side.

Kenshin looked at his younger self with amber slitted eyes.  "WHAT!  And why did you poke me!" he yelled.

"You've only known Kaoru for 2 years right?" he asked, his own eyes narrowing.

"Yeah…so?" Kenshin replied.

"…so…" he looked at Tomoe once again and then back at his older self.  "So…what Kaoru was saying…at the inn…about…" he paused "about you" he pointed to Kenshin "and her" he pointed at Tomoe "getting—"

Kenshin cut off his younger self, grabbing him by his gi collar and yelled in his face.  "DON'T YOU EVEN!!  I LOVE KAROU!! And KAORU ONLY!!"  Then he released his younger self and stalked off in the direction that Kaoru had gone running off in.

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~ Meanwhile ~

Kaoru was running through the woods towards the river.  She couldn't see very well because of the tears streaming down her face, but she didn't really care anymore.  'WHY!?' she screamed in her head. 'Why did he have to come to the future?  How did he get here?  Why did I have to say that to him?  Now even Kenshin thinks that I don't really love him!!  OF COUSE HE THINKS THAT BAKA!! He is him and him is he!! They ARE the same!!'  Kaoru reached the clearing by the riverside, that held so many memories for her.  Being captured with Jine, the time Kenshin left her, his eventual proposal…all those memories came flooding back to her and she collapsed right there, on the log, sobbing her eyes out to the sound of the rushing river.

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Kenshin headed to where he knew his koishii would end up.  She would end up by the riverbank, in the clearing with the log.  That's where all the important things in their life together happened to them.  He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her when he got there, but he knew that he had to make an effort to fix this.  Tomoe was right, of course, she always had had a knack of knowing what was best.  Besides, regardless of what Kaoru had said…he loved her…he couldn't live without her by his side.  She was his meaning to life.  Yes, Kenshin was determined to fix things and have his happy ending with Kaoru, no matter what obstacles he had to face…even if that meant his own self.

As he approached the clearing, he noticed Kaoru sobbing on the log, her body lying sideways on it, and her arms, covering her face, which was facing the log.  He took a deep sigh, feeling her pain, as if it was his own, and then continued.  

Upon feeling his approaching ki, Kaoru sat up and looked back to see which Kenshin it was.  "Oh Kenshin!!" she exclaimed when she saw that it was her sweet rurouni.  She stood up and threw herself into his arms, and continued to sob on his chest.  "It's so horrible!! What I said to him…I shouldn't have said that." Kaoru said into Kenshin's gi.

Kenshin just held her tight.  "Shhhh…it's ok koishii…I know that you didn't mean it." he soothed.

Kaoru looked up at Kenshin.  "Really?" she asked him.  

Kenshin nodded.

Kaoru smiled up at him through her tears.  "Well, at least one of you understands what I meant." She paused. "I love you both you know?  Because you are both the same…even though there are small differences, you are both my Kenshin!" Kaoru sighed.

"I know Kaoru." Kenshin said.  "We are even more the same than you think." He continued.

"What do you mean?" Kaoru asked him.

"Kaoru…when you said what you said…it was the same thing as saying it to me…I was just as crushed at your words.  I've even gained those memories of the past with you, and-"

Kenshin was cut off by Kaoru's fingers being placed over his lips.  "Shh." She whispered, quieting him.  Then she reached up on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips.  Only too happy to comply, Kenshin wrapped his arms around her thin waist and pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss.  After pulling slightly apart Kenshin murmered to her.  "Oh Kaoru…I've missed you so much.  Even though I have the memories of the past 9 months…it's not quite the same as actually holding you in my arms…it's felt like an eternity." He nuzzled his face in her neck.  "I love you koishii." He whispered.

"Oh Kenshin…I know…I missed you so much.  I just never let myself think about it.  I would get to depressed and sad.  I was with you, but at the same time I wasn't with you.  It was so hard." She confided.

"Mmm." Kenshin agreed.  "I know…there was a sadness in you underneath all that happiness.  That is probably why my younger self is so upset, and unsure of how you are feeling."

Kaoru frowned.  "I just don't understand how the two of you can be jealous of each other…I mean really!" she exclaimed.

Kenshin threw back his head and laughed at Kaoru's tone of voice. "Kaoru, my dear, it is something you will never be able to understand, I'm sure." He answered for her.

Kaoru sighed in exasperation.  "I suppose anata no baka…I suppose." She playfully glared at him.

Kenshin reached over and pinched her nose.  "Don't play like your mad, I'd be willing to bet a part of you loves all the attention."

"MOU!! KENSHIN!!" Kaoru exclaimed stomping her foot.

Kenshin just continued to laugh at her.  "Comon koishii, we need to get back to the dojo.  I'm sure Tomoe-dono, and the other me, are worried about you." He said, his laughter subsiding.

"Yeah…you're right." Kaoru agreed and stepped out of his arms to head back to the dojo.

Kenshin put an arm over her shoulders and looked at her sideways.  "Have I told you how cute you are lately koishii?"

Kaoru grinned.  "No…why?" she asked happily.

"Because you are simply adorable." Kenshin finished and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.

Despite herself, Kaoru blushed.  It was weird, but he was acting strangely like his younger self…not that Kaoru minded. Just as they walked onto the pathway that headed out of the clearing and back to the dojo, a shadowed figure stepped in their path.

"I see how it is Kaoru." He said.

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Okies!! That's it for now…it seems to me that this turned into quite a long chapter! O_o

Anyhow!! Thank you bunches to everyone who has been reviewing my story!! I'm sorry if it's a little confusing with the 2 Kenshins (past and present) but I tried really hard to make it as unconfusing as possible. Honest!! ^_^;;

Well, until next time, c ya!!

Please remember to leave me a comment!!

Bunny ;D


	18. A Sense of Belonging

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Kenshin put an arm over her shoulders and looked at her sideways. "Have I told you how cute you are lately koishii?"

Kaoru grinned. "No…why?" she asked happily.

"Because you are simply adorable." Kenshin finished and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.

Despite herself, Kaoru blushed. It was weird, but he was acting strangely like his younger self…not that Kaoru minded. Just as they walked onto the pathway that headed out of the clearing and back to the dojo, a shadowed figure stepped in their path.

"I see how it is Kaoru." He said.

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Chapter Eighteen

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Kaoru and Kenshin stopped walking and stared at the figure for a moment.

"You see how what is anata?" Kaoru questioned Battousai.

Battousai brushed his wisps of bangs out of his eyes and gave a deep sigh.  "You two…" he paused while pointing back and forth between Kaoru and his older self.  "You are best friends." He looked down at the ground, still deep in thought.  A lone tear traveled down his cheek as he looked back up at the couple.  "I want that." He whispered.

"What?  I don't understand…what are you talking about?" Kaoru questioned.  Then she turned to the older Kenshin "What are you talking about?" she asked him.

Kenshin shrugged and looked to his younger self for an explanation.

"That's what was missing Kaoru…don't you see it?" Battousai said to her.

"No, I don't see it." Kaoru said in a low voice. And then proceeded to punched him in the side of his face while saying "Spit it out BAKA!!"  Not even noticing that Kenshin had hit the floor assuming her attack would be directed at him.  Before Battousai even had a chance to explain himself to his now quite fuming and frustrated wife, Kenshin began to laugh.

Kaoru turned her attention to the rurouni laughing on the ground.  "And what are you laughing about BAKA!?" Kaoru yelled while slamming her fist onto the top of his laughing head. At this younger Battousai also began to laugh, finally relaxing for the first time since his arrival into the future. "It's too funny!!" they both exclaimed to Kaoru at her look of complete puzzlement while they continued to laugh.

'Why do I feel like I missed something very important here?' Kaoru wondered to herself.  She frowned.  'MOU!! They BETTER NOT be laughing at ME!' she fumed in her head.  "Would one of you bakas kindly tell me what is so funny?!" Kaoru yelled to them.

Kenshin, having collected himself, stood and grabbed both of Kaoru's hands into his own.  "Koishii…" he began in a soft voice to as not upset her further.  "I thought you were going to hit me, and then you hit the other me, and then you did hit me, and I think we both just found it funny that we both have gone through you hitting us like that." He explained.  

"Exactly what I said." Battousai agreed with his older half.

Kaoru, having calmed down somewhat at Kenshin's tone, pondered on that information for a moment, tilting her head to the side slightly as if taking it all in.  "I see." She finally said.  Then turning back to her younger husband, Kaoru asked, "So what were you trying to tell me?"

Battousai stood back up and took Kaoru's hands from his older counterpart.  "Kaoru…you and me…" he paused and smiled at her fondly.  "We never had the friendship…we were so busy being in love with each other, we didn't take the time to get to know each other as just friends first.  I loved you from the moment I met you, and I didn't hold back…all I wanted to do was be with you forever, we had all the romance, but…we didn't share the friendship that you have with him." He finished while looking over to his older self.

Silent tears started pouring down her face.  "What -- what do you mean?" she asked him.

Battousai pulled Kaoru into a tight embrace and whispered to her, "what I mean is that, we have love…lots of love, and I will always love you, our time together will always be my sweetest memory." He pulled slightly back from their embrace so that he could look at her face, gently wiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks, and continued, "but I need you to be my best friend too…you already have a best friend…so now I'm going to go find mine.  I know that you're waiting for me…back in the past…waiting for me to come and find you because not only will you be my only love, but you will also be my best friend."

Kaoru bit her lip, not quite sure what to say to that, only knowing that in a way it was true.

"Do you see what I mean koishii?" he asked her softly, looking into her eyes.  "Do you see how that was the missing part of our relationship?  You love me yes, but it's because I'm Kenshin that you love me, I'm not your best friend that you share all the memories with though."

Kaoru nodded her head in agreement, her tears continuing to fall down her cheeks, as the younger Kenshin failed at wiping them all away.  "So…so does this mean that I'm never going to see you again?  Are you leaving now?  Are you going to go back to the past now?" she asked, her voice raspy, her sadness apparent.

"Yes." Battousai said, looking deeply into her eyes, as if memorizing the look of her love reflected in them.

"I will love you for always." Kaoru whispered to him.

"I know." He said.  "And, I will always be with you.  I promise I won't mess things up this time, I'll do better than he did." He said, a smile on his face as he glanced as his older self.

Kenshin just glared daggers at his younger half, happy that he would be leaving.

Battousai smirked and then kissed Kaoru thoroughly, before turning away from her and walking into the forest.

"Bye…Kenshin." Kaoru whispered to his retreating form.

Kenshin stepped over to Kaoru and wrapped his arms around her from behind.  "Are you going to be ok?" he asked her softly.

Kaoru turned her head so she could look at him and smiled through her tears.  "Of course." She said. "I have you, what more could I possibly want?" she asked him.

Kenshin frowned.  "I'm just scared that you might love him more than you love me." He confided.

"No.  How could I?" she asked.  "You are everything to me…I am just worried about you…what you will have to go through before we can be together again."

"Yes…but he will do things better, I'm sure, and he doesn't have the hurt that I had." Kenshin said.

"You're right." Kaoru agreed. "Let's go home anata." She said while stepping out of his embrace and grabbing his hand to drag him back to the dojo.

"Yes, koishii." Kenshin replied, allowing himself to be drug back to their home, with a smile of contentment on his face.  Kaoru was back…she loved him more than ever…he had made his peace with Tomoe…and Kaoru and he would be married tomorrow…all was right in the world.

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A/N: SEE NO CLIFFHANGER THIS TIME!!  ^_^;; So many complaints about that from the last chapter.  Yeesh!!  So just to make every1 happy, I ended this chapter w/o a cliffhanger.  Are you happy?  Please tell me that you are happy!! :D

Anyhow, please leave me some feedback, this chapter was really difficult to get through and I want to make sure it was worth the wait.  I'm really sorry about the wait.  I have been really busy.  For those of you who don't know, I'm the webmistress of 6 websites, one of them being a very large sailor moon website (www.princessserenity.net) and they keep me really busy.  I also had to turn my mailing list for ps.net into a yahoo group recently due to the number of members I had being to large.  I also am in the process of wrapping up the 2001 Sailor Moon FanFicton Contest for my site, so I've been really slammed.  Then to top everything off, my computer's hard drive burned this last weekend, and I'm on this really slow loaner computer, and I lost all my files, so GOMEN NASAI, but I did have a good excuse!!  

Anyhow, this fic is still pretty far from done.  We are headed back into the past to check up on every1's favorite violet eyed assassin and how he's going to meet his Kaoru "and do things better"  **snickers** ::hehehe::

Much much fun a head for all of us!! Got any ideas of stuff you would like to happen?  Leave me a comment in the reviews about it!! If it wasn't for Gypsy-chan, young Battousai wouldn't have visited, so I do take your ideas seriously!!

I'm also going to try to pump out another chapter today, or early next week!!

Take Care,

Bunny ;D


	19. 200 Review Special Party!

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**~ 200 Review Special ~**

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"Honto SUGOI!! Whoooo HOOOOO!!! YAY! YAY! YAY!!" Bunny yelled while jumping up and down in her computer room.  "200 Reviews!! Finally!! YES!!" she yelled again. "It's PARTY TIME!!" she whooped as she slid back into her chair, picked up her phone and began to dial numbers furiously. 

The young Kenshin – Battousai walked into the room and with a highly annoyed look on his face said.  "What's all the racket about Bunny?"

Bunny sweat dropped as she placed the phone back in the cradle and turned to Battousai.  "Eheheheheheh" she stuttered as she turned around to face Battousai, a light blush making it's way across her cheeks.  "I'm sorry Kenshin…I didn't mean to wake you up.  I was just excited." She explained.

Battousai grinned at her.  "You know…" he began, "you look really cute when you're embarrassed." 

Bunny blushed deeper as Koneko-dono came bursting into the room.  "I'm here!!" she announced.  "Wasn't that fast!! I know!! I've been waiting for this party for a long time" she babbled in excitement.  "I brought ice cream too!!" she said as she held up a few gallons of various flavors of ice cream in triumph.  Then noticing that Bunny was blushing and Battousai was grinning she raised an eyebrow at them.  "What were you two doing?" she asked suspiciously.

Bunny's eyes bugged out of their sockets, and her blush deepened further.  "NOTHING!!" she screeched as she stood up and swiped a carton of ice cream from Koneko-dono.  "Thanks for brining chocolate chip, you know that's my favorite!" she said trying to change the subject as she lifted the lid and began to dig into her reward for all her hard work.

Koneko-dono raised an eyebrow at the two, wondering what really went on in this house.  Just as she opened her mouth to ask, Kenshin and Sano walked in.

"We're here Bunny!! Where's the sake?" Sano said as he came into the room and gave Bunny a peck on the cheek and a tight hug, quickly followed by Kenshin who did the same, much to Bunny's delight.

"I know where the sake is," Battousai said motioning for Sano to follow him.

"What are YOU doing here?" Kenshin asked to his younger self, glaring daggers at him.

Battousai rolled his eyes.  "I live her you baka!" he exclaimed and began once again to lead Sano out of the room.

"Hey, wait a minute." Kenshin said to his younger self and Sano before they left.  Then he turned to Bunny. "How come he gets to live with you and I don't?" Kenshin asked her.

Bunny blushed.  "I didn't know you wanted to live here too Kenshin…I suppose we could make room for you." She answered.

"No way!!" Battousai said.  "There is no way he gets to stay here, Bunny!!"

Bunny ate another scoop of ice cream and said, "You two can duke it out over who gets to live with me then." She rolled her eyes as she stood up, making her way into the living room she called over her shoulder.  "I have a party to throw and lots of people are going to be here any second.  I don't have the time for two of the same person to argue over me.  What is your guys' problem with each other anyways?  Yeesh!!  Why fight over me anyhow?  I'm just the author!"

Battousai pouted.  "I'm going to stay here with Bunny…I like her…she doesn't hit me." He mumbled to himself as he flopped himself into Bunny's computer chair.

Koneko-dono shot Kenshin and Battousai a glare and said, "You bakas better not ruin Bunny's party" as she followed Bunny out of the room, followed closely by Sano.

~ In the living room ~

Sano was happily downing sake and dancing with Koneko-dono.  Bunny was dancing with her ice cream and appeared to be fully enjoying the blend of vanilla and chocolate.  Then the front door opened and in came Bao Blossom, stormy, Gypsy-chan, sync*in, chocolate star, crystal okamino, keiko-san, rurouni angel, and dramaqueen.

"Bunny!!!" chocolate star yells as she runs into the room and wraps Bunny in a big bear hug.  

"Chocolate Star-chan!!" Bunny squeals as she hugs her friend back.

"Cool Party!!" she says as Gypsy-chan, Bao Blossom, stormy, sync*in, crystal okamino, keiko-san, rurouni angel and dramaqueen all introduce themselves.

"Thanks for inviting me Bunny!" Crystal Okamino says as she grabs Bunny's hands and jumps up and down with Bunny "WHERE ARE THE KENSHINS?" she says as she starts giggling.

Bunny looks around the room trying to spot one of her redheaded friends.  Seeing neither of them in the room she grabs her stereo system remote, hits mute and yells "KENSHIN!!" at the top of her lungs.

Moments later, the two come flying into the room from the hallway.

"Yes Bunny?" they both ask.

Crystal Okamino, rurouni angel, sync*in and keiko-san all yell "KENSHIN!!" as they clobber the two unsuspecting men and send them onto Bunny's floor smothering them with kisses.

Gypsy-chan, Bunny, dramaqueen and Koneko-dono burst out laughing at the sight as Sano turns the music back on and grabs Chocolate Star.  "Let's dance BABY!!" he says to her.

"OK!" she exclaims and starts to get down with the already intoxicated Sano.

Feeling sorry for her friends, Bunny heads over to the other side of the room to pry crystal okamino, rurouni angel, keiko-san and sync*in off of the Kenshins.

They both grab onto Bunny as if she was their only lifeline and they both say to her "how could you do that to us?"

Bunny shrugs. "This party is for the reviewers you know…they wanted to meet you." She explains.

Battousai gets down on his knees and grabs onto Bunny's legs and says, "Please…please…Bunny I will do anything you want me to do, just please don't ever put me through anything like that again."

Kenshin falls down next to his counterpart and looks up at Bunny pleadingly.  "What he said." He says to her.

Bunny grins at the two as and they both start to get worried looks on their faces.

"I know what you can have them do!!" Gypsy-chan says over the music while taking in the whole scene.

"I have a few ideas too!!" rurouni angel says while mischievously lifting her eyebrows at the two redheads.

Kenshin turns to look at his younger self and says to him "why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret this?" he asks Battousai.

Battousai frowns and then looks up at Bunny hopefully, only to see her smirking and her eyes dancing as she looks down at the look-a-likes and then back up at all her friends.

"I think that Battousai is cuter…what do you think?" sync*in whispers to chocolate star.  Chocolate star looks at sync*in for a minute before saying…"I dunno…I never really thought about it…but I think you might have a point…although, if we did Kenshin's hair the same way…I bet we could have twins!!"

The Kenshins, overhearing this blush to the roots of their hair and grab onto Bunny's legs even tighter.

"So…Bunny…" Koneko-dono begins, "what are you going to make them do?"

"I'm not quite sure yet Lesly-chan" Bunny answers her, looking thoughtful.

"She is so lucky having them begging her like that." Dramaqueen whispers to crystal okamino, who just nods in agreement.

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To be continued…

Bunny ;D


	20. A Long Awaited Occasion

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Kenshin stepped over to Kaoru and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Are you going to be ok?" he asked her softly.

Kaoru turned her head so she could look at him and smiled through her tears. "Of course." She said. "I have you, what more could I possibly want?" she asked him.

Kenshin frowned. "I'm just scared that you might love him more than you love me." He confided.

"No. How could I?" she asked. "You are everything to me…I am just worried about you…what you will have to go through before we can be together again."

"Yes…but he will do things better, I'm sure, and he doesn't have the hurt that I had." Kenshin said.

"You're right." Kaoru agreed. "Let's go home anata." She said while stepping out of his embrace and grabbing his hand to drag him back to the dojo.

"Yes, koishii." Kenshin replied, allowing himself to be drug back to their home, with a smile of contentment on his face. Kaoru was back…she loved him more than ever…he had made his peace with Tomoe…and Kaoru and he would be married tomorrow…all was right in the world.

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Chapter Nineteen

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Kenshin and Kaoru arrived back at their home and found Tomoe waiting for them in the courtyard.  Kaoru smiled at her friend, and Tomoe smiled back at her, a question in her eyes.

'What is she trying to ask?' Kaoru wondered.

"The other me, went back to the past." Kenshin grumbled to her as he and Kaoru reached where Tomoe was standing and stopped.

'Leave it to Kenshin to read the woman.  How did she know that the other Kenshin was here?' Kaoru wondered.

"I see." Tomoe replied solemnly.  "Well…" she sighed before continuing, "I suppose I will go back to bed now.  See you in the morning." She added before slightly bowing and turning around to walk back to her guest room.

As Tomoe's retreating form became more faint, Kenshin turned to face Kaoru and held her other hand.  He smiled at her.  "Are you ready for bed koishii?" he asked her.

Kaoru just nodded her head as Kenshin began pulling her towards her room.  'It's good to be home…' she thought to herself as Kenshin began to re-make the bed since he had been sleeping on it when she arrived back from the past.  After completing his task, Kenshin swept his arms in an invitation for Kaoru to lie down on the bed.  Instead, Kaoru just grinned at him wickedly and began to undress to change into her nightclothes.  

"Kaoru!! What are you doing?" Kenshin said, alarmed as he rushed to her and began to cover her back up.

Kaoru looked up at Kenshin with a confused expression.  "What do you mean what am I doing?  I'm changing into my nightclothes." She replied, still baffled at Kenshin's outburst.

Kenshin began blushing.  "Kaoru…we aren't going to be married until tomorrow night." He reminded her gently.

Kaoru's eyes widened. "Kenshin…" she began, and then took a deep sigh, as if he was trying her patience, "we've been married for a little over 9 months now." She responded.

Kenshin momentarily frowned and then lovingly put his arms around her.  "Kaoru…" he whispered to her, "I know…but…you and me, we haven't **_really_** been married yet, and I wanted to do this right.  Let's just wait one more day ok?"

"Kenshin no baka!!" Kaoru replied. "I can't believe you were thinking about that!! I'm way to tired anyways, I just wanted to go to sleep, but I needed to change first, I didn't know changing in front of you would be such a big deal." She paused to take a deep breath and then continued.  "I mean really…you are too noble for your own good sometimes, plus, I wasn't thinking about anything like that, even though you obviously were…pervert." She finished her tirade and then began to undress once again to change into her nightclothes.

Kenshin just blushed from embarrassment and watched Kaoru change and get into her bed.  Once settled she smiled up at him and said "are you coming to bed or are you going to stand there and watch me sleep all night?"

Kenshin grinned at her before changing himself and jumping onto the bed they would be sharing together for the rest of their lives.  She smiled at him as he wrapped his arms around her and snuggled up to her.  He watched as Kaoru closed her eyes and fell asleep, her breathing evening out. "This is better than any new memories." He whispered to her before joining her in sleep.

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The next morning Kenshin woke to find his one and only cuddled up in his arms.  He smiled to himself, knowing that from that moment on, his life would only get better with each passing day.  He only basked in the glory of the moment for a minute though, there was a wedding to be had that day, and he needed to get everything together for it to happen.  But first…he needed to wake Kaoru.  Ever so gently he leaned over her and began to softly graze her lips with his own.  It was only a moment before Kaoru moaned "Kenshin…" and arched her back against him as she started kissing him back.  As though he had done it a million times before, Kenshin deepened the kiss and began to rove over Kaoru's body with his hands.  In response, Kaoru reached out to him and touched him.  Kenshin backed away from Kaoru as if her hand was on fire, jumped out of the bed and looked down at her, breathing heavily.  

Kaoru opened her eyes and looked up at him, confusion evident on her face.  "Why did you stop?" she asked him.

Kenshin stood there shaking, the images of his counterparts memories of making love to Kaoru flashing through his mind.  It was just like re-living it all over again.  The feelings, the sensations, his state of mind, his love, everything was there in his memories, even though, the memories were not originally his own.  Deciding that escape was the best route to take, lest he lose control, Kenshin grabbed his clothes off of the floor, somehow managed to growl out "TONIGHT" to Kaoru and exited the room, running towards the bathroom.

~.~.~.~.~.~ Later that day ~.~.~.~.~.~

Kaoru grinned at Kenshin as he took another swig of sake and placed his cup back down on the table in front of him.  Kenshin grinned the grin that he wanted to jump her bones back at her.  Kaoru just giggled and then placed her lips on Kenshin's ear and whispered a few promises of what was to come that night to him.

"Oh…why don't the two of you just go to bed and get it over with already?" Megumi teased as she walked up behind the couple, causing them both to blush to the roots of their hair.

"Megumi no hentai!!" Kaoru hissed to her.

"HoHoHoHoHo" Megumi said as she slapped Kaoru on the back "it's good to have you back, Kaoru-chan" she said before walking back over to the table with the food to help Tae clean up the mess.  Tae had been nice enough to offer to bring all the food for the reception, and Kenshin and Kaoru were most grateful, not to mention, Sano and Yahiko.  It was almost time for the party to end though, and Megumi wasn't far off, everyone there had been noticing the looks Kenshin and Kaoru had been giving each other all day.  Kenshin had kept everyone on alert that Kaoru and he were still getting married as soon as she came back, so make the arrangements hadn't been difficult at all.  It was a very exciting day.

'This…this is what I always wanted.' Kaoru thought to herself as she scanned the courtyard filled with her laughing friends and Kenshin sitting beside her holding her hand.  She let out a sign of contentment.  It didn't get much better in her book…although she wouldn't mind going away to a house up in the mountains with Kenshin for a few months.  ::eheheheheheh::

Another hour went by, and just about everyone had left.  Sano had been nice enough to have Yahiko over for the night, Tomoe had been invited over to Megumi's and Tae had offered to house Misao and Aoshi for the wedding night also, so the newlyweds could be alone. As Kaoru was saying her thanks and goodbyes to Tae, Megumi, Misao, Tomoe and Tsubame for all their help with the wedding, Kenshin came up behind her and placed his arms around her. "Good night!!" Kaoru called to them as they closed the gate behind them, leaving Kenshin and Kaoru alone in their dojo for their wedding night.   

~.~.~.~.~.~ A Couple of Hours Later ~.~.~.~.~.~

Kenshin and Kaoru were curled up in bed…exhausted.  "I wonder how all this changed the rest of my past." Kenshin finally whispered to Kaoru after she had begun to drift off into sleep.  

Kaoru's eyes flew open.  "I don't know…what do you think?  After all, you are you." Kaoru whispered back.  

A slow grin began to form on Kenshin's mouth.  

"What?" Kaoru prompted him to share his thoughts with her.  

"I'll bet he's watching you from afar…waiting until you are old enough to approach.  I don't think he's going to wait until when you and I met." He finally answered.

Kaoru also began to grin.  "Really?  You think so?" she asked, feeling so flattered that if Kenshin ended up in the past that he would watch over her, waiting for her to grow up.

"Yeah…I know so." Kenshin answered.

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~.~.~.~.~.~ Back in the Past ~.~.~.~.~.~

The young Kenshin lounged on a large branch in one of the sakura trees just outside of the Kamiya Dojo Property.  

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A/N: Okies!! That's the end of Chapter 19.  Sorry for those of you who were looking forward to getting right into what our young hero is up to, in his pursuit of his "one and only," but I wanted to have closure on our present day K&K before we went back to the past to check up on the young now x-hitokiri ;)

Anyhow, please leave a review and let me know if you like where this fic is headed.  I love feedback, but please always be nice! ;)

I'm hoping to get out chapter 20 tomorrow or Monday by next week.  And I can't wait to write about the rest of the party!! Just you wait, there is going to be some wicked cool action, and way more special guests to come ;)

Take Care,

Bunny ;D


	21. An Invitation

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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AN: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"I'll bet he's watching you from afar…waiting until you are old enough to approach. I don't think he's going to wait until when you and I met." He finally answered.

Kaoru also began to grin. "Really? You think so?" she asked, feeling so flattered that if Kenshin ended up in the past that he would watch over her, waiting for her to grow up.

"Yeah…I know so." Kenshin answered.

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~.~.~.~.~.~ Back in the Past ~.~.~.~.~.~

The young Kenshin lounged on a large branch in one of the sakura trees just outside of the Kamiya Dojo Property. 

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Chapter Twenty

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At the end of the war, Kenshin had exchanged his katana for a sakabatou…Kaoru's ideals about not killing, and "the sword that protects" being forever engrained into his memory, he had wanted to change…and knew that it would make His Kaoru happy…or so he hoped.  So when the Meiji Era had begun, instead of wandering aimlessly, he had immediately set out to the Kamiya dojo to see what Kaoru was up to.  Even though she was still a little girl…7 years old to be exact…Kenshin couldn't wait to see her. So now, Kenshin found himself living in a tree, just outside her dojo.  He had been there for a few days.  Only leaving to get food, to train in the forest, lest he lose his skills, and to sleep.  But during the majority of the day, Kenshin was in the tree, watching.   

He had first only intended to get a glimpse of what she was doing, how old she was…see what her family was like, but after first glance…he had become captivated.  He wanted to observe her as long as possible.  The first time he had seen her, she had been running after a little boy around her age with her shinai, yelling at him about how "girls can be just as strong as boys" and then after catching up to the poor boy, had proceeded to thwap him over the head several times.  Kenshin had suppressed his laughter, and felt sorry for the poor boy as much as he had thought Kaoru was absolutely adorable.  From that moment onward, he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to leave his perch in the tree, lest he miss out on a part of Kaoru's life.  She was so interesting to watch, and so full of spirit.  It had been a deep reminder to him of why he loved her so much.  It had been two long and lonely years since his time with Kaoru, and he had almost begun to forget…almost.

"Ok…I've had enough of this.  Why have you been camping outside of my property for the past 4 days?" a voice suddenly yelled to Kenshin from down below.

Being jarred from his thoughts, and startled beyond belief, Kenshin fell from his perch in the tree, and onto the ground with a loud "ORO!" to boot.  'Great…I am turning into my idiotic future self.' He thought to himself as he stood back up from the ground to greet whoever was intruding on his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what did you say sir?" Kenshin asked the man he was now standing face to face with, while absentmindedly rubbing his arm he had landed on.

"I said…why are you camping outside of my property?  What do you want with my family and me?  Or is it one of my students?" the man asked crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

Kenshin sweat dropped.  "Uh…and you are?" he asked, trying very hard not to be rude.

This time, the man sweat dropped.  "Kamiya Koshijiro, master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, and owner of the Kamiya dojo.  Now, what are you doing?" Koshijiro asked once again of the young man invading his privacy.

'It's Kaoru's FATHER!!' Kenshin's mind screamed out to him as his eyes bugged out of their sockets.  Shocked, Kenshin just stood there dumbfounded for a minute. 'What do I say to him?  Well, you see…I'm planning on marrying your daughter, don't mind that I'm 11 years older than her and an x-assassin.'  Nervously, Kenshin blurted the first thing that came to his mind to say.  "So you're Kaoru's father?" 

Koshijiro's eyes widened in surprise "How do you know my daughter?" he asked the young man that was looking more and more uncomfortable with each passing second.

Just as the stranger opened his mouth to answer Kaoru herself came bouncing around the property corner "DADDY!! DADDY!! DADDY!!" she yelled excitedly.  Then spotting the redheaded stranger, she stopped short.  'Wow!! What a cute guy!!' she thought to herself as she gave the stranger her biggest grin.  "Who are you?" she asked the man.

Kenshin grinned at Kaoru and crouched down to her level so he could look her in the eyes.  "I'm a rurouni." He answered her and gave her a loving grin.

Kaoru blushed at the rurouni's look.  "I'm Kamiya Kaoru." She offered.  "It's really nice to meet you…would you like a place to stay?" she asked the stranger.

"Kaoru!!" her father scolded for inviting a stranger into their home with out his permission.

Kaoru grinned up at her Dad.  "It's ok Daddy!! He's a nice guy!!  See!!" she said as she grabbed Kenshin's grinning face and showed his smile to her Dad.  Kenshin sweat dropped as Kaoru continued her case, "He can help you with the upkeep around the dojo in return for our extra bedroom, can't he?" she asked.  "You are always complaining that we need more help." She continued.

Koshijiro sighed.  There was no use; Kaoru had her heart set on helping the wanderer with the flaming red hair and x scar on his face.  "I suppose that would be ok." He replied.  

As Kaoru squealed in delight while clapping her hands together and jumping up and down, Koshijiro said to the rurouni "I could use the extra help if you would be willing to stay with us."

Kenshin was torn.  He wanted nothing more than to stay with them, but at the same time, he didn't want to change things for Kaoru, or put her in any sort of danger.  Deciding he could always leave if he felt he got to close, he gave Koshijiro a nod.  Then he looked down to Kaoru and said, "I am a rurouni.  There is no telling when I might have to leave, or where I might be going...but if you don't mind that, then I will stay with you a while."

Kaoru just nodded her head in acceptance of his words.

Kenshin looked back up at Koshijiro and grinned his thanks.

"Well, there is no need for us to stay out here, let's go inside." Koshijiro said as he slapped a palm on Kenshin's back, he leaned closer and whispered into Kenshin's ear so that Kaoru couldn't hear.  "I'm going to want an explanation on why you knew my daughter's name later."

"Oro!" Kenshin said as he stumbled forward a bit, not expecting Koshijiro to hit him so hard, and startled at the older man's hidden protectiveness. 

Kaoru grabbed Kenshin's hand and began to pull him around the property.  "I'll show you where your room is ok?" she said to him excitedly.

"Oh yes, that reminds me." Koshijiro said.  "What is your real name anyways? Rurouni won't do if you are to be staying with us."

Kaoru stopped walking and turned around, very interested to know his name as well.

Kenshin just grinned once more.  "Kenshin.  Himura Kenshin." He answered.

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**A/N:** It's the beginning of something new!!  That's the end of Chapter 20.  ;D  I can't wait to write the rest of this fic!! I hope everyone likes it as much as I have been enjoying writing it!!

I'm really sorry that it took me so long to get this out.  I've been so busy lately it's really exhausting! Anyhow, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter? Did you?  Please let me know, but please be nice. 

**SMALL RANT:**

I don't mind negative feedback, as long as it's put nicely.  If you don't know what I mean, compare these two examples under my reviews:  Das Weisshund (rude, and unconstructive, an obvious put down who must be friends with Sevarem, who for some reason has decided to hate me and flame me for all I'm worth, and make a "let's flame bunny" fan club.) with Sakura Seta's (nicely put, constructive, obviously meant not to be rude or mean.)  Since my fic has been more popular I have received a few flames.  ^_^; Here's how I feel: I never said I was an aspiring author.  I never said I was good at this.  I do this for myself, and for anyone who enjoys reading it.  If you don't enjoy my story, just don't read it, there is no reason to bother me with flames or be rude or mean to someone you don't even know.  However, if you really would like to see a few improvements because you actually LIKE my story and you are nice about it, busy as I am, I take that into consideration and make appropriate changes.  On that note,

**I wanted to address the following:**

The OOC.  Yes, my characters at times are very OOC.  This is intended.  If you don't like OOCness at times, then please just don't read the fic.  

The Japanese insertions.  This is a bad habit that I picked up from reading other fix, and also from chatting.  I HAVE been making a conscious effort to take this out of my fix, and just stick to English. There will still be occasional words, but for the most part, everything will be English.  I stopped doing this for the most part a few chapters ago; I think it's gotten better.  When I have the time, I am planning on editing the older chapters, but I wanted to let you all know that I am planning on fixing this.  I read through some of the old stuff, and I agree, it gets annoying. There is no need for it especially.  

That's all ;D

**Special Thanks:**

I wanted to especially thank the following for their wonderful reviews and support even though I suck at writing fanfiction:

Almira

Fall Angel

Jade Anime

Slightly_offkilter

Bao blossom

Macy

Dramaqueen

Gypsy-chan

Sync*in

Omochi

Rurouni angel

Koneko-dono – who finally updated her ficcy!! YAY!!

AND susan

Got any suggestions for the 300 review party?  I'm taking them now.  Hopefully the party will happen…

Till Next Time,

Bunny ;D

* * *


	22. A Promise Made

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**A/N:** This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Kaoru grabbed Kenshin's hand and began to pull him around the property.  "I'll show you where your room is ok?" she said to him excitedly.

"Oh yes, that reminds me." Koshijiro said.  "What is your real name anyways? Rurouni won't do if you are to be staying with us."

Kaoru stopped walking and turned around, very interested to know his name as well.

Kenshin just grinned once more.  "Kenshin.  Himura Kenshin." He answered.

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Chapter Twenty-One

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After settling in at the dojo, Kenshin had offered to prepare dinner for the three of them.  Kaoru had stayed by his side the whole time, wanting to help him, and he had once again begun to teach her how to cook.  He couldn't help but side-glance at her the whole time they were cooking.  She was so cute, and full of life.  It was also very heart-warming to him that she liked him so much that she wanted to be with him all the time.  He smiled to himself.

Kaoru, who was helping Kenshin by watching over the rice, looked over at Kenshin and saw him grinning down at the fish he was seasoning.  "What are you smiling about Kenshin?" she asked him, wanting to get to know him better.

A bit startled at Kaoru's observance, Kenshin looked over at her.  "I'm smiling about you," he said as he reached over and affectionately touched the tip of her nose with his finger.  

Kaoru placed her hand over her nose, and giggled, loving the handsome older man's attention.  'I hope Kenshin doesn't ever leave,' she wistfully thought to herself.  "What about me?" she probed, happy that she was able to make him smile.

Kenshin shifted his head to the side in thought, "just because you are you," he answered, and then smiled at her again. "Well, that, and also because you are helping me make dinner." He added.

Kaoru smiled up at Kenshin, her admiration clearly evident in her eyes, and then turned back to the rice.  "I'll make dinner with you every day," she whispered to him.

"That would be wonderful, Kaoru." Kenshin whispered back.

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Koshijiro looked on through the window at his daughter's interaction with their new houseguest through narrowed eyes.  He didn't feel any sort of animosity, or coming danger from the rurouni, but the fact that he had been watching them, and that he acted as if he knew Kaoru so well made his insides a bit queasy.  He didn't trust his new houseguest, and he needed an explanation, otherwise, he would not be able to allow this stranger to continue to live with them.  How he would accomplish that, he was not sure, Kaoru already seemed very attached to the idea of having the redhead stay with them, and he would never want to do anything to hurt Kaoru, his daughter had things badly enough with her Mother gone.  However, he didn't want Kaoru to be in any danger with the rurouni living with them either.  He frowned at the ground as he walked back towards the training room to clean up before dinner.  He needed to find out exactly what Kenshin Himura's intentions were, and why he knew so much about his daughter.

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Once again, Kenshin squirmed under the gaze of Kamiya Koshijiro during their dinner meal.  The man had been giving him odd looks since the moment they met.  He sensed a deep distrust from Kaoru's Father, and it was un-nerving.  He tried to pay attention to Kaoru's story as she told him about an injured rabbit she had found in the woods and nursed back to health, but the glares he could feel coming from the older man were beginning to downright frighten him. Not that Kenshin felt that he would be unable win if a battle between he and Koshijiro had to take place.  It was more that he would never want to fight the older man.  He loved his daughter, and wanted to marry her.  If anything, he wanted the older man's approval, and respect.  It didn't look as if that would be happening anytime soon though.

Then mid-story, Kaoru scowled at her Father and said, "Dad! Why do you keeping looking at Kenshin like that?"

Koshijiro, shocked at his daughter's question, and seeming protectiveness glanced at Kaoru with wide eyes.  "What do you mean?" he asked her.

Kaoru placed her chopsticks down, and did her best imitation of the gaze her father had been giving Kenshin for the past 15 minutes or so.  "Like that!" she exclaimed.  "Why do you keep looking at him like that?  You are making him feel unwelcome, and I don't like it, you are making me upset," she said to her Father, quite angered at his behavior towards her new favorite person.

Kenshin wanted to crawl away, but he opted to sit there in silence, desperately wishing that he could magically disappear.  He had never before felt such embarrassment, not even with Kaoru just after their wedding.  It was nice that Kaoru felt the need to protect him from her Father, but embarrassing, and at the same time, her intuition was so right on, that it made him worry about other things she may be aware of.  'Does she know that I'm here for her?' he had to wonder.  Not to mention, that her boldness in front of him towards her Father made him feel even more uneasy.  He didn't want to be the start of an argument between Koshijiro and his daughter.  He also didn't feel that it was appropriate to include him in an argument, since he was still a stranger to both of them, and far off from being a member of the family.

Koshijiro frowned at Kaoru. 'How did she sense that?' he wondered over her skills.  'Does she really like this man so much already?' he asked himself, with a sense of dread.  Kenshin was too old for Kaoru to set her eyes on as a potential husband, not to mention she was entirely too young to be thinking about those types of things already.  "It's nothing for you to worry about Kaoru, Kenshin and I just need to talk," he answered her, in a tone of voice that said 'this is not going to be discussed further.'

"Mou!" Kaoru exclaimed before she got up and stomped out of the room towards her bedroom.

Kenshin stood, in an attempt to follow her, but Koshijiro was too fast.  He grabbed Kenshin's arm, restraining him from chasing after her, and said, "We do need to talk Kenshin. Kaoru will be fine."

Kenshin looked down at the older man holding his arm, still sitting in the chair, and nodded his head in agreement.  He stifled a sighed as he sat back down.  "What did you want to talk to me about Koshijiro-sama?" he asked politely.

Koshijiro narrowed his eyes once again, "Don't play dumb with me, I know you are a highly skilled swordsman, and you know what is bothering me," he said.

Kenshin knowingly, half-smiled.  'Well, here it is, the moment of truth,' he thought before saying, "I would never harm Kaoru, I want to protect her." He confessed.

Koshijiro relaxed a bit at Kenshin's words, and then the full implications of what he said, flooded his mind.  "Wait a minute, what exactly are your intentions towards my daughter?" he asked.  Kenshin did not have to say anything; Koshijiro could read it in his eyes.  "No, you can't marry her!" he exclaimed, as he stood up, and began to pace.  "You are way to old for her," he continued, as he watched Kenshin's half smile fall off of his face, to be replaced by a look of complete despair.  He paused his tirade and sat back down, lowering his voice in the process, "why Kaoru? She is so young, you don't even know her, and I don't even know you." 

Kenshin's eyes dropped down to the table not even feeling as though he should look at Koshijiro.  "I, I didn't think that you would approve of me," he admitted, the sadness in his voice apparent.

Koshijiro frowned.  "Why Kaoru?" he asked again, a bit calmer, ignoring Kenshin's comment.

Kenshin looked back up at Koshijiro and looked into his eyes, then he finally answered truthfully, "Because, I love Kaoru."

Koshijiro slightly gasped, taken aback at the raw emotions present in the younger man's eyes, and then let his breath out in a low hiss between his teeth.  "How is that possible?" he asked.

Kenshin frowned, knowing he could not tell his Father-in-law to be.  "I can not tell you, at least, not at this time.  I promise you, I will tell you someday, when Kaoru is older.  It's not only a long story, but it would not be wise of me to give you that information at this time.  I suppose you will have to trust me on it, although, I won't expect you to trust me.  I understand if you want me to leave you be." He said, and once again bowed his head. 

"How old are you exactly?" Koshijiro asked, deciding at this point the best thing to do would be to at least get more information on the rurouni who claimed to love his only daughter.

"18," Kenshin answered.

"11 years apart," he whispered to himself, "hmm…and you are a rurouni? Where is your teacher?  What of your parents?" he asked.

Kenshin frowned. "My parents died when I was very young.  I was sold as a slave.  One night we were attacked, I was the last one alive of our whole group.  Hiko-sensei saved me, and the next day, he took me in as his successor, and renamed me Kenshin." He paused and let out a deep breath before continuing, "I left Hiko-sensei to fight in the war, he did not approve of my decision, and I have not seen him since then.  He is most likely still living in his home.  Someday, I would like to go visit him, and if he is willing to teach me, learn the succession technique." 

"So, you left your sensei to fight in the war?  You seem a bit young to have been in the war, what were you doing in the war?" Koshijiro asked.

Kenshin winced at the table, knowing that Koshijiro would like him even less by his answer.  "I started as an assassin for the Ishinshishi, and for the past 2 years, I have acted solely as a bodyguard." He whispered out.

Koshijiro sighed.  "So, you are an orphan, and you have a lot of blood on your hands, even at your young age," he reached across the table and patted Kenshin's hand.  "That's pretty rough, kid.  No wonder Kaoru is so attracted to you, her kind spirit must want to heal your wounds." He added.

Kenshin looked up and offered a half smile to Koshijiro in agreement about Kaoru and her kind heart.  Koshijiro smiled back at him and said, "Despite that, I think that perhaps you may be fit to protect my daughter." Kenshin's eyes widened as the older man continued, "I have heard about the legendary assassin for the Ishinshishi, the one that they called "Battousai."" He said as he nodded his head, while looking into Kenshin's eyes, almost telling him to try to deny it, and then continued, "all I ask is that you don't tell Kaoru about it.  Not until she is older anyways, I want to protect her from knowing about those things.  Don't tell her anything that we discussed tonight. This remains between you and me.  In return, I will expect you to stay here, meaning no more rurouni, it will hurt Kaoru if you ever left, and I don't want her to be hurt.  Should my daughter decide that she would like to marry you, when I feel that she is old enough, I will tell you." He finished.

Kenshin nodded in his agreement to not tell Kaoru about what was discussed and then said, "thank you, Koshijiro-sama." 

Koshijiro laughed, "So, would you like for me to train you Kamiya Kasshin Ryu?" he asked.

Kenshin smiled, "only if you would teach me the succession technique, so I can teach it to Kaoru." He said.

Koshijiro's eyebrows lowered, "what do you mean?  I'm going to teach Kaoru the succession technique." He told Kenshin.

Kenshin restrained himself from slapping himself in the face over his slip up, "yes, yes, of course you are, what was I thinking?" he said, trying to cover his mistake.

Koshijiro frowned. 'What does he know, and how?' he wondered.  "Well, if you are going to be part of the family, it is only suiting that you learn our fighting technique, we can start training tomorrow morning, Kenshin." He said almost affectionately, as he patted Kenshin on the back, this time nicely.  "I'm off to bed, have a good night." He said before heading out of the room.

Kenshin smiled to himself.  'Could things get any better?' he wondered as he headed off to bed.

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**A/N:** I know, I know, not much K&K in this chapter.  It was a necessary evil!  ::hehe:: I needed to establish the Father and Son-in-Law relationship between Kenshin and Koshijiro.  I hope I didn't completely foul it up.  O_o;;  Sorry if you hated it! ;(  Anyhow, I'm just happy that I was able to post another chapter of my story! ;)  I've been getting some demands on updating.  Almira-chan! ::eheheh hugs::

I also wanted to thank everyone for your support and encouragement. I was really surprised how many people responded to my Author's Notes.  I was not expecting that _at all_.  ^_^;;  I actually feel like I might be entering into the RK online community.  Mostly, it's only Sailor Moon and a little bit of DBZ stuff that I'm involved in online.  I love RK, but I've never really explored much, or even chatted with any other RK fans, besides Mir, Koneko-dono and Chocolate Star (but I knew her from Sailormoon).  So thank you for letting me get a glimpse into your world. Today, I searched for some RK yahoo groups to join and so maybe now I will write better fics since I will be more connected.  Anyhow, I would like it if we all try to put the drama behind us now though, and concentrate solely on the fic.  I'm finding myself spending more time replying to emails than trying to write the fic.  Not that I don't LOVE to hear from everybody, because I do!!  So if you still want to email me, feel free to email me, I'm more than happy to listen, and share views with you.

Also, if you like my fic, and you have seen other anime, I would recommend checking out the FanFiction stories on Dragon Ball Z/GT, and Ranma ½.  This probably sounds weird, but that's where I get a lot of inspiration for what happens to Kenshin and Kaoru in this fic.  Like the whole young Kaoru growing up with younger Kenshin was an idea I came up with from reading all the stories about Trunks and Pan in the DBZ world.  Also, the time travel idea I got from DBZ and Ranma ½.  There is this really good Ranma ½ fic, I think it's on my favorite stories list, I'm not sure, but that's where I got the idea of sticking Kaoru with Battousai.  So I guess, basically what I'm saying is that you should check out my favorites list if you are looking for some good fix, and you like mine.  I highly recommend reading AMCM74's stories she is sheer genius.  Her ideas are so awesome, some of her stories are interactive, and she has great story plots.  I also got the whole Review Party thing from her.  ::hugs:: Thank you AM-chan! ;)

Not that anyone just read all of that O_o;;  But I hope you enjoy your stay here at FanFiction.net today! ::hehe::

Take Care everybody, and get ready for the party!!  Whee!!

Bunny ;D

**Special Thanks to:**

Almira

Chocolate Star

Susan

Hana Himura

Macy

Gypsy-chan

Koneko-dono

sync*in

and Akai Neko – even though a lot of people would vehemently disagree with you, your review was so nice.  It just completely made my day that someone liked my story that much! ::Hugs::


	23. 300 Review Special Party!

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**~ 300 Review Special ~**

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Last time at the 200 Reviews Party:

Battousai gets down on his knees and grabs onto Bunny's legs and says, "Please…please…Bunny I will do anything you want me to do, just please don't ever put me through anything like that again."

Kenshin falls down next to his counterpart and looks up at Bunny pleadingly. "What he said." He says to her.

Bunny grins at the two as and they both start to get worried looks on their faces.

…………….

"So…Bunny…" Koneko-dono begins, "what are you going to make them do?"

"I'm not quite sure yet Lesly-chan" Bunny answers her, looking thoughtful.

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Angel ()

Date: 2002-02-26

Ch: 23

Anonymous

awe.....that was such a kawaii chapter. I wish i could see pictures of it. ^_^ please continue.

Battousai glared at the computer screen again, and then let out a deep sigh. 'Why Angel? Why did you have to leave this review? I'm sure Bunny would have been perfectly happy with only 299 reviews. But no!!! You had to go and leave this review didn't you?' he sighed again. 'Now, Bunny is going to have another party with all those crazy girls,' he thought to himself. He winced, remembering how Bunny had declared him and his older counterpart her personal "live in slaves" until the next party in payment for keeping the girls from glomping onto them. She had been pretty nice about the work she had given them; some of the duties, like giving her foot massages had not been bad. He grinned to himself at the memory, and then scowled remembering how she had made his older self live there too, and his other self got to prepare her baths. Deciding he better go tell Bunny about her 300th review now, rather than face crazed girls that she wouldn't protect him from for not doing his job, he got up and walked towards the kitchen to hunt her down.

Coming around the corner from the living room and into the kitchen, he scowled as he saw Bunny and his older counterpart folding laundry together. 'Why does she help him do his chores? She just leaves me at the computer and tells me to watch for the 300th review and then comes in here to get all cozy with him.' He growled a bit, 'women,' he thought, now completely put off.

Bunny heard a low growl and looked up from folding towels to see Battousai glaring at his older half. She rolled her eyes. 'The rivalry between these two, I swear! It really needs to stop.' She thought before plastering on a smile for the younger Kenshin. "Hi Kenshin!! What's up?" she asked brightly.

Battousai smiled at her, he couldn't help it, the girl just had this cute innocence to her, and you just couldn't stay mad at her. "Bunny," he began "you just got your 300th review. It was by Angel." He finished in a low voice.

"Really?" Bunny and Kenshin exclaimed at the same time.

"Yes, really." Battousai said.

"Whoo hoo!!" Bunny whooped as Kenshin said, "I'm so happy for you Bunny!" before giving her a big hug. Bunny returned Kenshin's hug and then picked up the phone and started calling people. All Kenshin and Battousai caught where little blurbs because she was talking so fast. 

Just as she was setting down the phone, Gypsy-chan and Koneko-dono both ran into the kitchen. "I brought the pizza!! Where's Sano?" Gypsy-chan asked as Koneko-dono ran and gave Bunny a big bear hug while saying, "I knew you could do it Bunny!" 

"Thank you, not here yet, and thank you!" Bunny said excitedly to her two friends. 

"I remembered to bring a camera this time!" Gypsy-chan said as she whipped a camera out of her pocket. "Ok, now, I need a picture of me and Bunny with the two Kenshins! Koneko-dono!! I know you would love to take this picture for me!" she said as she handed the camera to Koneko-dono and grabbed Bunny, Kenshin, Battousai and got them all in a pose. 

Koneko-dono looked through the lens at Battousai and had a few non-pg-13 rated thoughts of her and a certain redhead before she backed up and snapped a picture of the 4 friends. Blushing, she handed the camera back to Gypsy-chan and said, "Hey Bunny, can I please have something cool to drink. It seems kind-of hot in here." 

Bunny and Gypsy-chan gave each other knowing looks, and then smirked at each other. 

"I can show you where all the drinks are if you like Koneko-dono," Battousai said as he went up to her and grabbed her hand, steering her out of the kitchen and towards the bar in the living room. Koneko-dono blushed more as she turned back to Gypsy-chan and Bunny, giving them a wink.

Bunny and Gypsy-chan each gave her two thumbs up.

"What was that all about?" Kenshin asked. "It's not hot in here," he added.

Bunny smiled at Kenshin's clueless ness as she turned to him and patted him on the shoulder, "it's ok Kenshin, don't worry about it" she said. 

Kenshin looked at Bunny and mumbled out a dazed, "Ok Bunny." 'She patted me on the shoulder, she loves me, I knew it.' He thought to himself. 

Bunny looked at Kenshin a bit worried over his uncharacteristic behavior. "Are you ok Kenshin?" she asked him, concern evident in her voice.

Kenshin opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by an excited, "Bunny!! Bunny!! Bunny!! Bunny!!" Bao Blossom yelled as she came running into the room, and then seeing Kenshin staring at her long blond haired friend, she stopped short and said, "Kenshin!" and gave him a 1,000-watt smile. 

"Oh, hi Bao Blossom!" Kenshin said turning his head to see their new guest. "How are you doing today?" he asked her.

"Cut the pleasantries Kenshin, I want to know if you can hook me up with Sano!" Bao Blossom exclaimed.

"ORO!" Kenshin exclaimed, as he fell on the floor.

"I'm sure it won't be too difficult seeing as he's practically a male slut." Hana Himura said between giggles as she sauntered into the room with a whole box of candy bars.

"Hey don't talk about Sano like that!" Bao exclaimed.

"Hana!! Did you eat too much chocolate again?" Bunny scolded her friend as she wagged a finger in her face.

"Yes I did!!" Hana exclaimed, sticking her tongue out at Bunny, "what are you going to do about it?" she added, egging her on.

"Why I oughta!!" Bunny exclaimed as she grabbed Hana's head and gave her an affectionate nooggie. "That's what you get when you stick your tongue out at me, don't you know I'm a goddess 1st class?" Bunny crowed.

"Oh no, it's not the goddess 1st class speech again is it?" Susan asked as she also walked into the room, a smirk on her pretty face, and many ice cream cartons in tow.

"Susan!!" Bunny exclaimed as she threw her arms around her neck. "I'm so happy that you're here!" Bunny said pulling away from the hug and swiping a carton of chocolate chip ice cream from her clueless friends hand.

Then setting down the carton of ice cream, Bunny leaned down and helped Kenshin back on his feet. "Oh Kenshin," she sighed to him, "what am I going to do with you?" she asked him in wonder.

"Keep me as your personal slave forever, de gozaru yo!" Kenshin exclaimed.

Susan, Bunny, Gypsy-chan, Hana and Bao all fell over, huge sweat drops adorning their heads over Kenshin's confession.

"What's going on? What did I miss?" chibi-angel exclaimed coming into the kitchen, seeing the 5 girls on the floor and Kenshin standing there with stars in his eyes.

"Eheheheh," Bunny nervously stuttered out, keeping her eyes from Kenshin as he helped her back onto her feet. "Hiyas chibi-angel!! Let's um…go put on some music now that just about everybody is here!" she said as she grabbed chibi-angel's arm, dragging the poor girl after her as she ran from the room, not even giving Kenshin a second glance. 

Susan, Hana, Bao Gypsy-chan, and Kenshin followed the two girls into the living room. There they saw Koneko-dono nervously downing drink after drink, making side-glances at the young Kenshin, while chibi-angel and Bunny flipped through various CDs, trying to determine what should be played first.

"No Doubt!" Bunny yelled to chibi-angel.

"Linkin Park!" chibi-angel yelled back, scowling.

"Can I put my vote in for some Brittany Spears?" Chocolate Star said as she came in through the front door, with macy, dramaqueen, almira, sync*in, and Sabrinne in tow.

"Uh! Yuck!" Bunny and Chibi-Angel said together, then they turned to each other grinning. "Ok!! Time for some Fatboy Slim!" They both exclaimed as if reading each other's minds. 'We really did need some dance music,' both girls thought.

"Ok, which one of you is Bunny?" Sabrinne asked the group.

"You mean you can't tell?" Chocolate Star asked her.

Sabrinne sweat dropped. "What do you mean? How would I be able to tell? I've never met Bunny before, but she was kind enough to invite me to her party." she said.

Chocolate Star's jaw dropped. "But haven't you ever seen Sailor Moon?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, Bunny is Sailor Moon, as in Moon Princess, meatball head, you know? Everybody knows **_that_**, it should be easy to spot her if you've seen her show!" almira exclaimed.

Sabrinne grinned, "I knew that!" she said as she ran over to Bunny and gave her a hug.

Bunny just laughed.

"So Bunny!!" dramaqueen said, making her way over to the author, "since, uh, you know, you are the author and all, can you please give me a little Kenshin action?" she asked.

Bunny blinked a couple of times at dramaqueen. "But, I don't insert people into my fics, if you want some Kenshin action, you will have to get it here, in real life. But I have to warn you, sync*in wants some of Battousai too." Bunny finally answered.

"Not if I get to him first!" dramaqueen exclaimed as she made a rush towards the young Kenshin who was making yet another drink for Koneko-dono. Sync*in, hearing the conversation between Bunny and dramaqueen also made a beeline towards the unsuspecting assassin. As they both reached mid-way, Sano opened the door, knocking the two unsuspecting girls out.

"I'm here Bunny!! Where do you want me? I'm ready to pose for fan pictures!" Sano exclaimed.

Bunny, seeing her two friends knocked out, fainted right into Kenshin's arms as Bao jumped up from her seat on the couch. "Sanosuke!!" she exclaimed as she whipped out her camera and began to furiously take pictures of the x-gangster.

Sano, loving the attention began posing for Bao, and flexing his muscles for her. Macy, almira, chibi-angel, Koneko-dono and Sabrinne watched in awe. Susan tried to help Kenshin revive Bunny, while Hana and Chocolate Star moved sync*in and dramaqueen onto the two sofas, hoping the girls were ok. Meanwhile Gypsy-chan grabbed Battousai and started dancing with him.

As Bunny came-to she gazed up into Kenshin's concerned violet eyes, and said, "What happened to me Kenshin?" 

"You just fainted Bunny. Are you ok?" he asked her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Now, I need to go back to work on my fic."

"That would be a good idea," almira said.

Macy scowled at almira, "give Bunny a break, this is her party you know, she works really hard on the fic all the time, can't she have a break?" Macy said.

Bunny sweat dropped and waved her hand at the two girls. "It's ok, after the party I will work on the fic ok?" she said.

"Bunny!!" Battousai yelled from across the room, as the now revived dramaqueen and sync*in smothered him with kisses. "You promised me Bunny!!" he yelled desperately trying to pry the girls off of his neck.

Bunny sighed. "Oh goodness, imagine what the next party is going to be like," she said to Kenshin.

Kenshin smiled at her. "You think you are going to have another party?" he asked.

Bunny frowned in thought, "you know Kenshin, I don't really know. I suppose that would depend on my faithful readers." She answered honestly.

"YAY! I want another party!" Chibi-angel exclaimed overhearing the conversation.

"Me too!" Sano and Bao yelled from across the room where they were now downing sake together. "So, uh…you and me, right here, right now?" Sano asked Bao.

To be continued?

Bunny ;D


	24. Will You Marry Me?

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**A/N:** This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Koshijiro laughed, "So, would you like for me to train you Kamiya Kasshin Ryu?" he asked.

Kenshin smiled, "only if you would teach me the succession technique, so I can teach it to Kaoru." He said.

Koshijiro's eyebrows lowered, "what do you mean?  I'm going to teach Kaoru the succession technique." He told Kenshin.

Kenshin restrained himself from slapping himself in the face over his slip up, "yes, yes, of course you are, what was I thinking?" he said, trying to cover his mistake.

Koshijiro frowned. 'What does he know, and how?' he wondered.  "Well, if you are going to be part of the family, it is only suiting that you learn our fighting technique, we can start training tomorrow morning, Kenshin." He said almost affectionately, as he patted Kenshin on the back, this time nicely.  "I'm off to bed, have a good night." He said before heading out of the room.

Kenshin smiled to himself.  'Could things get any better?' he wondered as he headed off to bed.

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Chapter Twenty-Two

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Kenshin awoke very early the next morning, just before the crack of dawn to do his early morning training. This had become his schedule in the past week he had been staying outside of the dojo.  Quietly, as to not wake any of the inhabitants of the home, he slid open his paper screen door.  Once he was on the outer porch he jumped off into the courtyard, then with barely more than the rustling of leaves, he leapt up into a near by tree, and then jumped through the forest towards the riverbank as the sun began to rise in the far horizon.  Upon reaching the riverbank, without hesitation he thrust his head into the freezing cold water to heighten his senses and wash his face.  Immediately after withdrawing his head from the water, he leapt over the river and began to attack an imaginary enemy.

Kamiya Koshijiro also awoke very early the next morning, just before the crack of dawn to wake Kenshin to get some training in before Kaoru's personal lessons.  As he was turning the corner of the hallway to wake his potential future son-in-law, he caught sight of the redhead quietly leaving his bedroom.  Wondering what Kenshin was planning on doing, Koshijiro opted not to make his presence known, and watched the younger man leap off of the property, and into the forest.  Deciding to follow him, Koshijiro took to a run and followed Kenshin all the way down to the riverbank.  As he reaching the clearing where the river flowed he stopped behind a tree, and watched the young samuari jump very high into the air, giving off the appearance that he was flying, then in a moment, with a battle cry, he was smashing his sword into the ground, causing the earth to practically erupt.  Koshijiro felt the powerful attack all the way from the other side of the river, and couldn't help but feel a sense of awe over the impact his attack created.

After the debris from his attack had all landed back on the earth Kenshin leapt back over the river and smiled in Koshijiro's direction.  "Good morning Koshijiro-sensei!" he called out to the older man.

A bit startled, that Kenshin had noticed him, Koshijiro jumped out from behind the tree he had been observing Kenshin from and stuttered out a, "good morning, Kenshin."

"Shall we head back to the dojo to begin our lessons for today?" Kenshin asked the older man as he walked over to him.

"Yes, yes, that would be a good idea," Koshijiro said as he turned around and they both began to walk to the dojo.  They headed back to the dojo in a comfortable silence and once there, immediately began their training.

Kenshin and Koshijiro had only been training for about an hour or so when Kaoru skipped into the dojo, ready for her morning lessons with her father.  "Good morning!" she called out as she opened the wooden door.  (AN: I don't know if dojo's have wooden doors, or paper doors or what, but I figured a wooden door would be good so that nobody would go crashing through it. ^_^;)

Kenshin and Koshijiro both stopped their friendly spar they had been ending their training with to greet Kaoru.  "Good morning!" They both said to her enthusiastically.

At seeing her favorite red head in the dojo, Kaoru's eyes lit up in excitement.  "Kenshin!!" She exclaimed before she ran over to him and gave him a big hug.  Kenshin kneeled down to hug the younger girl and smiled in happiness at how quickly she had became his friend.  As she pulled away, she kept her arms around his neck and then whispered into his ear, "did everything go ok last night with Daddy?"  

Kenshin tried to hide his blush as he remembered exactly what he had talked about with Koshijiro the night before, and had to wonder if little Kaoru had a plan of her own that she wasn't telling him about.  Why else would she be asking such a thing like that to him almost privately?  Instead of getting into it with her, which was something he definitely wasn't comfortable talking about with her, he simply nodded his head.  

Koshijiro watched his daughter throw her arms around the younger man, and wondered over the closeness between the two that had developed in such a short amount of time.  'It used to be me that she would run to hug in the morning, I guess those days are over, and much too soon,' he thought to himself as he saw Kaoru whisper something into Kenshin's ear and Kenshin nod his head to her.

"Yippie!!" Kaoru suddenly exclaimed to no one in particular.  Then she smiled at Kenshin again and said, "So you get to stay here with me forever?  You're going to marry me when I grow up right?" 

"Kaoru!" Koshijiro yelled, once again shocked that his daughter could be so bold.  At the same time, Kenshin barely caught himself from falling over in surprise at Kaoru's confidence.  Then deciding that perhaps she was just being a young girl, and even if she wasn't, knew that he meant it when he said, "of course, Kaoru."

Ignoring her father, Kaoru's smile widened as she said to Kenshin, "do you promise me?"

Kenshin smiled at her, "yes, I promise you." He said with all seriousness.

"Ok then," Kaoru began, "you will have to wait until I'm all grown up, so I'll just practice with my Dad now," she said as if dismissing him, as she headed to the wall and grabbed her shinai off of the shelf.

Kenshin and Koshijiro both watched Kaoru in utter wonderment as she went about her warm-ups without a care in the world.  Then, as if realizing they were both daydreaming, they looked at each other.  Koshijiro quirked an eyebrow at Kenshin as if to say, 'do you know what she's thinking?'  Kenshin shook his head to indicate that he also had no idea, then with a somewhat scared look on his face, stood back up, and made his exit with a quick, "I'm going to go do the laundry now."

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It was the middle of the night when Kenshin sat up quickly in bed, yet another nightmare of his past waking him from what could have been peaceful slumber.  He was still sitting up, panting, as his door quietly slid open to reveal a small figure standing in the doorway.  Still somewhat out-of-it from his dreams Kenshin leapt up from his futon and growled towards the small figure, "who's there?"

"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked in a small scared voice.

"K-K-Kaoru?" he stuttered out, as he slowly approached her small form.  He kneeled down as he reached the small girl who held his heart, and she promptly burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.

"I'm 'sniff' sorry that I 'sniff' scared you.  I had this really horrible dream!!" she explained as buried her face deeply into his shoulder.  "You 'sniff' you were in the middle of some kind of war and there was all this blood, 'sniff' and all these scary, 'sniff' big men with swords, and they were trying to kill you, 'sniff' it was so horrible!" she continued explaining her dream to Kenshin.

"Shh…it's ok, it was just a dream.  See, I'm right here, and I'm ok." Kenshin whispered to her as she continued to quietly cry onto his chest.

"No, it was horrible," Kaoru insisted, "I was there too, but I was all grown up, and…and…and," Kaoru stopped and cried more.  

Kenshin patted her hair, in a gesture of comfort as his mind reeled with questions.  'Is is possible that she is remembering what happened with the other Kaoru who came to the past?  But then, wouldn't I have the rurouni's memories as well?  What does this mean?  Is it all just some sort of coincidence?'  As his mind continued to bombard him with questions, Kaoru's sniffling quieted, and Kenshin soon realized that she had fallen back asleep.  He smiled as he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to her room.  He careful placed her back under her covers and then made a quick exit from the room, heading back to his own, for a long, sleepless night, full of many questions, none of them being answered.

Koshijiro, having witnessed the whole encounter between Kaoru and Kenshin, also went back to bed.  He, however, had a satisfied smile on his face, knowing that his daughter had chosen and good and honorable man to be her husband, despite his past mistakes.

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I wanted to give everyone, and most especially my loyal readers a really, really huge apology for taking so long to update.  This month I have been slammed.  So busy, that I was taking off every Friday from work just so I didn't have a nervous breakdown. Yes, my life has been 1 million times more hectic this month that usual, so I'm VERY SORRY that it was my updating of this fic that got neglected so much.  

I've already started on Chapter 23, so it should be out very soon.  I need to know how Kaoru's father dies.  Does he die of sickness, being in a war, what?  If you know, could you please tell me?  I will need this information for the next chapter.  And just to give you all a taste of Chapter 23, here is the beginning:

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 ~ 9 Years Later ~

A 16-year-old Kaoru watched Kenshin do the laundry as she swept the porch.  

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Thank you bunches to everyone who has been encouraging me to keep writing and who have left reviews.  It's made this a really enjoyable experience for me! 

In other news, I seem to have been nominated for the Rurouni Kenshin Reader's Choice Awards for 2001 for the WAFF category.  Whoever nominated me, thank you!  I'm so flattered and honored that people would think so highly of my story.  For everybody else, I would recommend checking out all the nominations, and placing your vote.  There are a bunch of categories and even a category for FanFiction of the Year. (SUGOI!)  Anyhow, if you want to check it out, here is the URL:

http://sekihara.dreamhost.com/rkreaders/waff.html

That's about it, see ya next time space cowboy! ::hehe::

Bunny ;D


	25. Family Meeting

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**A/N:** This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"Shh…it's ok, it was just a dream.  See, I'm right here, and I'm ok." Kenshin whispered to her as she continued to quietly cry onto his chest.

"No, it was horrible," Kaoru insisted, "I was there too, but I was all grown up, and…and…and," Kaoru stopped and cried more.  

Kenshin patted her hair, in a gesture of comfort as his mind reeled with questions.  'Is is possible that she is remembering what happened with the other Kaoru who came to the past?  But then, wouldn't I have the rurouni's memories as well?  What does this mean?  Is it all just some sort of coincidence?'  As his mind continued to bombard him with questions, Kaoru's sniffling quieted, and Kenshin soon realized that she had fallen back asleep.  He smiled as he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to her room.  He carefully placed her back under her covers and then made a quick exit from the room, heading back to his own for a long, sleepless night, full of many questions, none of them being answered.

Koshijiro, having witnessed the whole encounter between Kaoru and Kenshin, also went back to bed.  He, however, had a satisfied smile on his face, knowing that his daughter had chosen and good and honorable man to be her husband, despite his past mistakes.

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Chapter Twenty-Three

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 ~ 9 Years Later ~

A 16-year-old Kaoru paused for a moment in her sweeping to gaze at Kenshin doing the laundry.  This was no unusual thing, in fact everyday she would sweep the porch and the courtyard while Kenshin dutifully washed the clothes.  Despite being a self-proclaimed tomboy, on most days while she was sweeping, she would daydream of castles, princesses, and shining knights, starring her and the man she stared at.  She was still a girl, after all, and like all other girls, had her favorite fantasies.  And what fantasies they were.  Today though, was different.  There was something in the air today, and Kaoru couldn't quite put her finger on it, but instead of her usual daydreams, she found herself reflecting on her life, reflecting on Kenshin, and worrying about her father.  All Kaoru knew was that something was going to happen.  Something was going to happen that was going to change her life, and it was going to happen soon.  She just didn't know what it was, or if it would be a change for the better, or a change for the worse.  Thus, her lack of daydreams for the day...

Although, having lived with her and her Father for several years, in some ways, Kenshin was still such a great mystery to her.  The day she had met him, he had said that he was a wanderer, and that he may have to leave at anytime.  He had left a few times, but he had always come back within a week or two.  Why he had left in the first place had never been never discussed with her, it had been matters between her Father and Kenshin only. Kaoru didn't mind, as long as he came back to her, she was happy.  However, today memories of Kenshin leaving, and coming back and never discussing it with her was bothering her.  She furrowed her brows in worry as she wondered exactly what it was that the two men had been keeping from her all these years.

That wasn't the only great mystery about Kenshin.  No, he was full of many secrets, and even more surprises, but today seemed to be the day for Kaoru to brew over them all in her mind.  Kenshin…and her, well, they had always had a very special relationship.  A connection if you will.  Kaoru liked to think the connection was that they were in love with each other, but those were her fantasies.  In the real world, Kaoru was not sure exactly what the connection was between herself and Kenshin.  Kenshin was so hard to understand sometimes.  When she had been younger, he had been very loving and affectionate with her.  They had always talked about how they would get married when Kaoru was older.  But then, after Kaoru's 13th birthday, things had changed. For the past 3 years, Kenshin had withdrawn himself from her on that level.  It made Kaoru so sad, wondering if she had done something wrong, or, even worse, if Kenshin had just been playing into her childhood fantasies, but once she was old enough, backed-off, not wanting to string her along.  Even still, Kaoru had a hope.  She remembered very well the morning after Kenshin had arrived and he had looked into her eyes and promised in all seriousness to her that they would be married when she was older.  Unconsciously, Kaoru let a deep sigh escape her lips.  'Now that I'm old enough to marry…he's not even noticed me.' She thought as she let out another deep sigh and continued her sweeping.

Kenshin, hearing Kaoru's sighs, turned away from the laundry to look at an almost replica of the young woman who had suddenly come into his life and stolen his heart many years before.  This past year had been the worst for him since he had decided to live here at the dojo with Kaoru and her Father.  Not because he didn't enjoy their company, but more that Kaoru was now all grown up, in every way, and it was very hard for Kenshin to restrain himself around her.  He had started backing off on the hugs and kisses and talking about getting married once Kaoru became a teenager.  He didn't want Koshijiro to think he had broken his promise, and he also wanted Kaoru to decide for herself if she really loved him or not.  

But as for him…he loved her more and more with each day.  Being able to share in Kaoru's childhood, becoming her friend, and learning everything about her, had been better than he had ever dreamed it would be.  As wonderful as that all was though, having her there, right there, with him all the time, and not being able to tell her how much he loved her and wanted to be with her forever, was tearing him apart.

Kenshin let a small-frustrated groan escape his own lips as Kaoru sighed once again. 'I wonder what she is sighing about?' he thought before saying.  "Is something bothering you, Kaoru?"

Startled at Kenshin's voice, Kaoru slightly jumped as she brought her head up to look at Kenshin.  "Hmm?" she asked him.

Kenshin frowned a bit in worry over Kaoru's inattentiveness.  Usually she was so in tune with what was going on around her.  'I wonder what has her so distracted?' he asked himself before repeating his question.  "Is something bothering you, Kaoru?"

Kaoru let out another deep sigh, over Kenshin's concern.  'There he goes again with his mixed signals,' she lamented.  "I'm fine, Kenshin. I'm just thinking." She replied.

Kenshin's brows lifted in curiosity.  "What were you thinking about?" he asked.

 "It-it's just that," Kaoru sighed again, "I have this feeling.  This feeling that something really big is going to happen to me, or to us, or all of us rather, and I don't know if it's a good thing, or a bad thing.  Do you have a feeling like that too Kenshin?" she asked.

Kenshin frowned once again at Kaoru's confession.  "Kaoru," he said, as he took a step closer to her, "I…-"

"KENSHIN!! KAORU!!" Koshijiro yelled from the porch, interrupting their conversation.

Both of them turned their heads to see Koshijiro beckoning them to join him inside the house.

"We're cleaning up right now Papa!" Kaoru yelled back, and turned her attention back to Kenshin.

"Never mind your chores for now, both of you, inside the house, immediately, we have something important to discuss!" Koshijiro yelled back to them, and then headed into the house, knowing that they would soon follow.

Kaoru pouted as she put her broom away and scuttled into the house after her Father.  It had appeared that Kenshin was going to open up to her, tell her something big, something important, and then her Father had to ruin it. 

Kenshin frowned as he wiped his hands clean from the water and soap before heading into the house.  He knew that Koshijiro had just returned from an important meeting in town.  He had been surprised to learn, not long after becoming a member of the family, that Koshijiro worked for the sword-bearing Metropolitan police.  Today, there had been a very important meeting about the conflicts going on in the southwest and Kenshin was worried that they would make Koshijiro leave to fight.  Even though they were not related by blood, Kenshin and Koshijiro had quickly fallen into the father-son relationship that had been established upon Kenshin's arrival, they had confided in each other over the years and they were now also the closest of friends.  Kenshin was concerned; in fact he was very concerned.  He _knew_, that soon, Kaoru was to lose her father, he wasn't sure how, but he knew the time was coming, and he did not want it to happen.

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Kaoru and her Father looked up at Kenshin as he entered the room, and then sat down in his place next to Kaoru, across the table from Koshijiro.  He repressed a sigh at Koshijiro's set jaw, and Kaoru's big eyes, envisioning what the room would be like in only a few minutes from now.

First Koshijiro reached across the table and took Kaoru's hand into his own.  He smiled at her.  "Kaoru…" he began, "you are very special to me, and now that you are all grown up, I want you to know that I am very proud of you." He said.

Kaoru looked at their hands and then back up to her Father and said, "What is it?"

Koshijiro let out a nervous chuckle.  "Oh, my dear little Kaoru, always one to cut to the chase…right Kenshin?" Koshijiro commented.

Kenshin remembered her marriage request as he grinned knowingly and agreed.

Not put off at their comments, Kaoru asked again, "What is it, Father?"

Koshijiro sobered and sighed.  "Kaoru," he said and then looked over at Kenshin, "Kenshin," he said and then looked at both of them.  "I've called this family meeting to inform the two of you that I have been given the honor of traveling to the southwest to stop the conflicts going on down there." He finished and then sighed once again.

Kaoru sat their wide-eyed for a moment as the information soaking in before yelling, "WHAT!!!  You can't possibly be serious!! You will be killed Father, you cannot go!! I insist!"

Knowing immediately what the outcome of Koshijiro going southwest would be, Kenshin grimaced.  After Kaoru's outburst, Kenshin spoke up quietly, "perhaps, it would be best if I could go in your place?"

Koshijiro glared at Kenshin.  "Do not even suggest such a thing Kenshin.  You are staying right here, with Kaoru. Don't you dare even _think_ about going back on your promise now." He said.

Kenshin frowned, knowing this was not the time or the place to have such a discussion. Kaoru would already have a million questions for them with that one comment and he didn't want to add fuel to her fire.

"What promise?" Kaoru asked.  When she didn't get an answer from her Father, she turned her bright blue eyes to Kenshin and asked him, "What promise Kenshin?"

Kenshin scowled back at Koshijiro, infuriated that the older man would say such things in front of Kaoru.  Part of the promise was that Kaoru would not know about the it, and here Koshijiro was telling him not to break it!  He suppressed a growl as he turned to Kaoru.  "Don't worry about it right now, Kaoru, I will tell you some other time about our promise." Kenshin said to her.

"Why?" she asked, "Why can't you tell me now? My Father is leaving me, and he's demanding a promise from you, I think I have every right to know what it is!" she demanded.

Kenshin sighed in defeat.  Before he could start to explain to Kaoru, Koshijiro stepped in.  Leaning over the table, he took Kenshin's hand and placed Kaoru's small hand inside of his.  Kenshin and Kaoru's eyes both widened, realizing what Koshijiro was saying.  "You will have to take care of each other now. As Kaoru said, there is a very good chance that I will not make it back." Koshijiro finally said.  

"But Father…" Kaoru began, tears starting to slowly make their way down her cheeks at her acceptance of what he was saying.

Koshijiro held up his hand, warning Kaoru to let him finish.  "Kaoru, as you know, you are the sole heir of this property.  You will have to teach the students in my absence, and should I not return, Kenshin will be the one to teach you the succession technique."  Both of them remained in silent shock as Koshijiro finished what he had come to say.  "I am leaving tomorrow morning, and that it all that will be discussed on this topic."  Koshijiro stood and just before departing the room said, "Kenshin, I will need to discuss a few things with you later, privately, regarding that promise."

"Yes." Kenshin said to his father-in-law's departing back.

Kaoru looked down on the table at her and Kenshin's entwined hands and sadly reflected that her dreams of Kenshin might come true, but that this was not the way she would have wanted it.  Not with the departure of her Father. No, never like that.

"Kaoru…" Kenshin said softly to her as she stared at their hands.

Kaoru lifted her head and looked into Kenshin's concerned violet eyes.  "Oh Kenshin…this is so horrible!" she exclaimed as she threw herself into his arms and began to sob uncontrollably into his shoulder, their fingers remaining entwined between them.

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A/N:  Ok, so as much as I want to keep going…I think this is a good stopping point. ;D  I'm really, really, really, really sorry for taking so long to get this updated.  I know some of you are probably about ready to fry yourself a little bunny…but…pouts…please forgive me!!  You don't want to hear the details on all the craziness that has been going on in my life, so I will spare you the gory details, but trust me when I say that I haven't been able to update. ;(

Anyhow, here is a quick preview of the next chapter:

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Late that night, Kenshin met Koshijiro in the dojo as they always did when a private discussion needed to take place between them. 

Koshijiro looked up at the sound of the door closing, and smiled at Kenshin.  "Well, since I'm not sure if I will be coming back or not, I thought that now would be the time for you to tell me the things that you were unable to tell me when you first arrived here 9 years ago."

"You mean, how I was already in love with your daughter?" Kenshin questioned.

Koshijiro nodded his head in affirmation.

"Ok then," Kenshin said as he sat down, "I will tell you.  Kaoru-dono and I first met during the Bakumatsu no Doran…" Kenshin began.

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Thank you bunches to all my loyal readers and everybody who has ever left me a review.  I just love to hear from you guys!  As an update on the WAFF RK Reader's Choice Awards, I got 2nd place, or runner up…anyhow, thank you bunches to everyone who voted for me, I feel so honored, and many, many congrats to Anna-Neko who was the winner.  I just love all her fics. ;)

I also wanted to send out a big huge hug and a great big thanks to hineko who beta read this chapter, and who is helping me fix up all the older chapters as well.

I feel a party coming on…so if you want in on it, make sure you let me know ;)

Ja mata,

Bunny ;D


	26. 400 Review Special Party!

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**Back by Popular Demand: ~ The 400 Review Special ~**

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_Kenshin and Bunny were curled up on the sofa watching the recently released CardCaptor Sakura Movie.  Bunny sighed as she leaned into Kenshin's shoulder and took another sip of her hot chocolate.  Despite that they lived in California, the day had been rather overcast, and the night air was very cool, so Bunny had recommended hot coco and a movie.  _

_Kenshin closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the close contact of the girl he had become so attached to.  _

_"Kenshin…" she whispered to him to get his attention._

_Kenshin opened his eyes and glanced down at her small face, framed in his arms._

_"Kenshin…" she whispered again._

_He leaned in closer to kiss her…_

"KENSHIN!!! Get up!! Get up!! Get UP!!!" Bunny finally yelled as she jumped up and down on Kenshin's bed in his bedroom.  'Geez, you try to wake a guy up nicely and he practically kisses you in his sleep!' Bunny thought as she jumped up and down on the bed some more, making sure this time her friend was awake.

Startled, and disappointed to discover that he had been dreaming, Kenshin grabbed Bunny's dangling arm in mid-jump and pulled her down on top of him.  "What is it Bunny?" he asked worriedly.  

Bunny blushed from the compromising position and was unable to answer Kenshin's question.

Realizing that pulling Bunny down on top of him, was perhaps a bit over the top, Kenshin released her arm just as his younger counterpart walked in through the door.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE!!??" Battousai yelled to the two blushing figures on the bed.

"I was just uh…trying to wake up Kenshin for the party." Bunny explained, turning even redder at how it must have sounded.

Battousai quirked an eyebrow at Bunny, "oh really," he began, "you have not e_ver_ woken **me** up like _THAT_ Bunny, believe me, I would remember!" he exclaimed, getting more worked up.

"She didn't," Kenshin butted in, "she was jumping up and down on the bed, and I pulled on her arm to get her to stop and she fell on me.  You know how clumsy Bunny can be." Kenshin explained.

Battousai humphed.  "Well, klutzo…I think you should get on the phone to call all those crazy girls again, and don't forget your promise to keep them from glomping me." He finally said.

"Ok!" Bunny said jumping off of the bed, happy to have a reason to leave the rather uncomfortable situation behind her.  

As she closed the door on her way out, Battousai snarled to Kenshin, "don't forget, that **I** was here first, rurouni."

"Oh really?" Kenshin responded just as acidly, "so what exactly does that mean?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes dangerously at his younger counterpart.

"It means, she's mine, so back off!" Battousai yelled before he turned on his heal, opened the door and slammed it behind him on his way to the living room, where Bunny would be making her phone calls.

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Bunny was on the phone inviting Chibi-Angel when she heard muffled yelling and a door slam.  She paused mid-sentence.

"Bunny?" Chibi-angel questioned into the phone at Bunny's sudden stop at her usually furiously quick talking.

"…." 

"Bunny?" Chibi-angel asked again.

"Sorry chibi-angel-chan," Bunny finally said, "the Kenshin's are fighting about something **_again_**!" Bunny exclaimed in frustration.

"Oh, I see.  Hmmm…we will have to do something about those two." Chibi-angel said.

"Yes, definitely.  They are being so silly." Bunny agreed.

"I'll brainstorm and get back with you at the party on my ideas ok?" Chibi-angel offered.

"Sounds good, just…" Bunny paused as Battousai entered the room, "…don't forget the uh…ice cream" Bunny finished lamely.

"Are one of them there?" Chibi-angel asked secretly through the phone.

"Yeah." Bunny moaned in frustration.

"Ok, then…see you soon!!" Chibi-angel said.

"byes!" they both said as they hung up.

Bunny looked up at Kenshin and gave him a 1,000 watt smile, in an attempt to make up.

"Hn." Battousai said as he flopped himself on the couch next to her.

"Don't worry about the girls this time Kenshin, I've got an ace up my sleeve." Bunny said, trying to make light of the mood.

"Hn." Battousai said as his only acknowledgement that she said anything at all.

Bunny sighed.  "Kenshin, it wasn't what it looked like in there with Kenshin, I promise." She finally said.

Battousai turned his head to look at her and opened his mouth to retort just as the door opened.

"BUNNY!!!  Battousai!!" Susan exclaimed as she walked into the house with Chocolate Star.

"Girls!!" Bunny exclaimed, jumping up from her seat, her heart-to-heart with Battousai, forgotten.

"Bunny-chan!!" Chocolate star exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around her friend.

"Bunny, I just want to thank you so much for inviting me again!! The last party was so awesome!! Did you hear about Sano and Bao?  OMG!" Susan said to Bunny.

"Yeah, I know, what a crazy party that turned out to be!" Bunny agreed, giggling.

"Hi Battousai!" Susan said as she sat down next to the young assassin and began to talk with him.

"So…uh…Chocolate Star, I've been meaning to ask you, are you going to be a reviewer for me for the 2002 Sailor Moon Fanfiction Awards?" Bunny asked Chocolate Star.

Chocolate Star sweat dropped.  "Bunny!" she said exasperatedly.  "We're in Rurouni Kenshin land right now, in case you forgot!" she said as she rolled her eyes at her sometimes completely clueless friend.

"OHHOHOHOHOHOHO!!" Bunny laughed doing a pretty good Megumi impersonation, but with a Bunny twist to it.  The effect was quite astounding, it even got Battousai and Susan's attention.

"What?" Chocolate Star asked, wondering what Bunny had up her sleeve.  Lord knows, the girl always had something up her sleeve.

Bunny grinned impishly as Kenshin also walked into the room.  Noticing, her smile, Kenshin's rurouni grin, wavered.  He knew that smile.  It meant Bunny was up to something.  In most cases, it was bad for him.

Before he had a chance to ask though, the door opened and in came Bao Blossom and Sanosuke, arguing as usual, but together, none-the-less.

"Hey Bunny-chan!" they both said in mid-argument.

"Hey guys!" Bunny said as they made their way past her and right towards the liquor bar.  Bunny laughed at her friends just as chibi-angel appeared in the doorway, ice-cream in tow.

"Hey Bunny!" Chibi-angel said, while trying to fit through the door with all the bags of ice-cream she had.

"Need some help?" Kenshin asked her as he took a few bags from her hands.

"Thank you!" Chibi-angel said as she passed off the rest of the ice-cream to the younger Kenshin as well.  After the two had disappeared into the kitchen, Chibi-angel nervously looked at Bunny.

Bunny grinned, figuring what was bothering her friend.

"Uh…Bunny…" Chibi-angel began.

"Yes?" Bunny asked, her smile getting even bigger.

"Uh…there are a bunch of guys…uh…in your front yard.  They said they knew you, but uh…" Chibi-angel stopped and blushed.

"Whee!! My ace finally showed up!" Bunny exclaimed excitedly as she skipped to the door.

Chibi-angel threw her hand out to catch herself from fainting at Bunny's words.  'HOW does she know all those Bishounen?' she wondered. 'That lucky girl!!' Chibi-angel thought.  Then with an impish grin of her own, chibi-angel thought, 'this is going to be the BEST party yet!'

As Bunny threw the door open, she immediately found herself in a big bear hug.  "DUO!!" she exclaimed in happiness.  "Did everybody make it?" she asked.

"Yep, I think so." He said.  "I also brought my turntables so you can have a REAL party!" he told her and winked.

"You're the coolest friend!" Bunny gushed to him.  

Susan, Chocolate Star and Chibi-angel all stood there with their mouths open as they watched all the Gundam Wing boys make their entrances, say hello to Bunny, with hugs and kisses, and then set up Duo's equipment.

As if that wasn't enough, immediately following Heero, in walked Trunks Briefs.

"Hey Princess!" Trunks exclaimed as he leaned over and gave Bunny a peck on the cheek.

"Trunks-kun!" Bunny exclaimed with a big smile. "I'm so happy you could make it!! I'm sure you will be able to distract some of the girls from the Kenshins!! Just like I promised them!" Bunny said.

"Don't worry about it Princess, I'm your man." Trunks said with a wink.  "Plus, whatever, I can't handle, I'm sure some of my friends will be more than willing to take care of for you." He said as the rest of the DBZ guys sauntered into the quickly filling up living room.  Shortly followed by the Fushigi Yuugi guys, the guys from Trigun, Ayashi no Ceres, Ranma ½, and Escaflowne.

Bunny just grinned some more as all her friends greeted her and joined the party.

"BUNNY!!" Gypsy-chan exclaimed walking into the house and grabbing onto Bunny's arm.  "Bunny!! Did I just see who I thought I just saw walk into your house?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah." Bunny answered.

Gypsy-chan's eyes widened.  "How do you know all these people?" she asked.

"Well, you know…being the champion of love and justice and all…I get around." Bunny explained.

"Wow.  That's crazy Bunny." Gypsy-chan said shaking her head.  Then she grinned as she snapped her fingers.  "Oh yeah!  I brought those pictures from the last party!! I made a copy for you of the one of us with the Kenshin's too!! I thought you would like it!" she said as she handed Bunny a stack of pictures and a big blown up picture of her with Gypsy-chan and the two Kenshin's.  

"Wow Gypsy-chan!! Thanks!!" Bunny squealed happily.

"Yeah, no problem!" she said as Kenshin wandered his way over to the door to chat with the two girls.  He stopped next to Bunny and smiled at her.

"Hey Kenshin!" Gypsy-chan said as she gave him a hug.

"Hey Gypsy-chan!" Kenshin said smiling at seeing his friend again.

"Comon, let's go dance!  Duo's blowing up this place up with these crazy beats!" Gypsy-chan exclaimed as she pulled Kenshin into the crowd of people dancing in Bunny's living room.

Bunny smiled as she watched her two friends dance away, and then moved outside onto her porch to be able to talk with the rest of the new arrivals.  'What a party already!' Bunny thought in her head.

"Hi Bunny!!" battousai angel yelled as she waved from her car pulling out a big tub of lemonade.

"Hey!!" Bunny yelled across the yard.

"It sounds like you have a raging party going on already!" battousai angel said as she stopped with the lemonade tub on the porch to chat with Bunny for a minute. 

"Yeah…we do.  It's pretty crazy in there!" Bunny exclaimed.

"Any hot guys yet?" battousai angel asked.

"Tons of them!  Go on inside, I'm just waiting for a few more arrivals." Bunny said with a smile.

"Ok then!" battousai angel said as she proceeded in through the door.

Bunny looked at her watch/scout communicator and wondered when the rest of her special guests would arrive.  She wanted to get in there are party after all…

Just then, a car pulled up.  There were 4 girls inside all screaming their heads off and honking the horn.

"hey Bunny!!" sync*in exclaimed from the backseat when she saw their hostess waiting on the front porch.

"Hey sync*in!" Bunny said jumping up and down in excitement, finally her guests were here!  "Koneko-dono!!  Hana Himura!!  Macy!! You guys are all LATE!!!" Bunny yelled.

The four girls cowered a bit.

"SOKAY BUNNY!!" Hana finally exclaimed.  "I brought you chocolate bars to make up for it!!"

"SUGOI!!!" Bunny exclaimed as she swiped a baby ruth out of Hana's hand.  "Ok, you're forgiven." Bunny said.  All 5 of them grinned as they headed into the house.

Just as they got in the dance area, Battousai latched himself onto Bunny.  "Bunny!" he exclaimed.

"Battousai!!" macy exclaimed.  "OOHHHH" she said as a camera suddenly appeared in her hand.  "Pose for the camera!!" she said as she began taking pictures of him.

Battousai smiled a bit for macy before dragging Bunny off into a corner.

"Bunny…" he began to interrogate her, "what is this I hear about you and that Trunks guy from Duo?"

Bunny paled a bit, scared of what was coming.  

"BUNNY!!" chibi-angel said as she grabbed her away from Battousai and back on to the dance floor.  As the two girls danced Chibi-angel said, "I had the perfect plan…but uh…then Trunks told Duo something and now everybody is talking about it. Is it true, what he said, about you and him and the Trunks from the future?"

Once again, Bunny fainted at her own party.  This time, it was the younger Kenshin that caught her to break her fall.  (a/n: What nice house guests they turned out to be ^_^;;)  As she came to, there was a large group of people hovering over her, wondering if the young fanfiction author would be ok.

Bunny sighed, closed her eyes again, and wished she could have stayed passed out.  The last thing she would have wanted was a story about her and TRUNKS!! Of all people!!  

"HEY!!" she suddenly heard Bao exclaim.  

She opened her eyes again to see that sync*in was trying to take Sano away to dance with her during all the commotion.

Bunny felt a fight breaking out.  It made her nervous, she hated fights.  Especially between friends, especially over guys.  Moaning she pushed herself up from the floor, only to be greeted by the very guy she didn't want to see at that particular moment.

"Trunks.  What did you tell Duo?"

"EHEHEHEHEHEHHHHHH," Trunks laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

"Your dead purple boy!!" everyone heard Kenshin yell as he, and his younger self together, unsheathed their swords and rushed towards Trunks.

Everyone gasped.

Gypsy-chan and macy began snapping pictures.  Bunny collapsed onto Hana and Koneko-dono.  "HELP!" she said to them.

"Here…" battousai angel said as she handed Bunny a carton of chocolate chip ice cream and joined them on the sofa.  "Just enjoy the fight, I'm sure it will be interesting." She added.

Bunny groaned.  "Why do my parties always turn out like this?" she whined to no-one in particular.  Then she opened up the ice cream and dug into it, hoping it would take away all her worries.

"Do you think you'll have another party?" Duo asked walking over to the 4 girls as the fight raged on.

"With you here?" Bunny asked.  "Definitely not."

Duo pouted as all the girls started laughing.

Bunny smiled, finding a new purpose for her party…to make Duo pay.

Till next time…if Bunny can convince herself to throw another one…

Bunny ;D


	27. My Past and How it Changed

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**A/N:** This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Koshijiro held up his hand, warning Kaoru to let him finish.  "Kaoru, as you know, you are the sole heir of this property.  You will have to teach the students in my absence, and should I not return, Kenshin will be the one to teach you the succession technique."  Both of them remained in silent shock as Koshijiro finished what he had come to say.  "I am leaving tomorrow morning, and that it all that will be discussed on this topic."  Koshijiro stood and just before departing the room said, "Kenshin, I will need to discuss a few things with you later, privately, regarding that promise."

"Yes." Kenshin said to his father-in-law's departing back.

Kaoru looked down on the table at her and Kenshin's entwined hands and sadly reflected that her dreams of Kenshin might come true, but that this was not the way she would have wanted it.  Not with the departure of her Father, no never like that.

"Kaoru…" Kenshin said softly to her as she stared at their hands.

Kaoru lifted her head and looked into Kenshin's concerned violet eyes.  "Oh Kenshin…this is so horrible!" she exclaimed as she threw herself into his arms and began to sob uncontrollably onto his shoulder, their fingers remaining entwined between them.

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Chapter Twenty-Four

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Late that night, Kenshin met Koshijiro in the dojo as they always did when a private discussion needed to take place between them. 

Koshijiro looked up at the sound of the door closing, and smiled at Kenshin.  "Well, since I'm not sure if I will be coming back or not, I thought that now would be the time for you to tell me the things that you were unable to tell me when you first arrived here 9 years ago."

"You mean, how I was already in love with your daughter?" Kenshin questioned.

Koshijiro nodded his head in affirmation.

"Ok then," Kenshin said as he sat down, "I will tell you.  Kaoru-dono and I first met during the Bakumatsu no Doran…" Kenshin began.  

"What?" Koshijiro exclaimed.  "How-" he began but Kenshin cut him off.

"Please do not interrupt, I will answer all your questions." Kenshin promised.  "Like I was saying, Kaoru-dono and I first met during the Bakumatsu no Doran, she was 19 years old when I met her.  She explained to me, after a lot of questions and prodding that she had somehow traveled from the future."

"You mean, Kaoru came from the future and you met her?" Koshijiro asked, trying to understand.

"Well, yes.  You see…in the future world that Kaoru was from; she had known the older me.  The future me, that had survived the war and had wandered for 10 years.  So when she appeared out of nowhere while I was on an assassination mission, and saw me killing all those people, I threatened to kill her."

"You did WHAT?!?!" Koshijiro yelled out, beginning to rise to his feet.

Kenshin quickly stood and gently pushed Koshijiro back to the floor while saying, "Now, now, it's ok, I didn't, and I wasn't able to anyways.  Kaoru is much too beautiful to kill." He added with an innocent smile. "Besides, she had recognized me, despite that I was half the age of the Kenshin she knew, so she said my name.  Meeting a stranger that knows your name when you are an un-known assassin is quite disturbing, so I took her with me so I could question her to see what she knew about me, and how."

Koshijiro just glared.

Kenshin did his best rurouni smile, knowing fully well what the older man must be thinking. "It's ok, I protected Kaoru, from everyone, including myself the whole time she was with me."  He said gently.

Koshijiro's glare softened a bit at Kenshin's words of comfort.  "Ok, continue Kenshin, I'm sorry for not trusting you, I know you would never hurt Kaoru." He finally said, and then offered a weak smile.

Kenshin nodded before continuing, "So, I took her back with me to the Ishinshishi hideout.  She was conveniently in a wedding kimono and everyone assumed that we had just been married, so she stayed with me."

Koshijiro's eyebrow twitched a bit.  "Kaoru _stayed_ with you?" He asked.

Kenshin sweat dropped as he patiently smiled at his father-in-law.  "Don't worry, I didn't, I mean, we didn't…" Kenshin paused, and much to his embarrassment, he blushed.

Koshijiro laughed at Kenshin's obvious discomfort.  "It's ok Kenshin, continue with your story." He said between laughs.

"Kaoru turned out to be just what I needed…those days had been dark.  Until she came into my life, I had been lost in all the blood and killing.  She was mysterious, high-spirited, and more surprising than anything, she was not afraid of me.  You can imagine how much her lack of fear around me intrigued me…also the fact that she seemed to know so much about me.  When I confronted her with what she knew about me from all her slip-ups, she confessed that she was from the future, and knew me in the future.  I immediately asked her what our relationship in the future was, and she lied and told me that I was her best friend.  It was not long after that though, that I discovered that the future me was in fact, about to marry her the day she had been transported to the past to be with me, hence her arriving in a wedding kimono. After discovering that I was to marry her in the future, I had convinced her to marry me in the past.  With reluctance, she did, not that she didn't love me, just that she also did not want to hurt the other me. We were together for almost a year, until one day she left in a bright light."

"A bright light huh?  This whole story seems so unbelievable.  How did she travel from the future and why?" Koshijiro asked.

"Well, she…didn't know how she traveled to the past, and I understand, because after she was transported to the future, I somehow found my way to her by traveling there to get her back.  When I got there, she had reunited with the future me that she was about to marry before coming to me, and had told me to go home and find my Kaoru, the one of this time.  As for why, I'm sure only God knows…but I believe she came to save me from the madness.  I had been so lost back then, and Kaoru came into my life and stirred everything up. She made me think, she made me have feelings, not only about her, but also about what I was doing with my life, and what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.  Kaoru gave me a purpose, a hope.  She saved me. That's why, after the war was over, I headed here to see her.  It had been so long, and I needed to see her.  I knew where the dojo was, and I resolved that I would only take a peek into what she was doing and then leave.  Once I got here though, I was unable to leave. I was not planning to talk to her, or meet you, or live here at all, but…things change.  Sometimes, the past can change." Kenshin finished softly.

"So she changed your past, and you changed hers." Koshijiro said more than asked.  He had an amused smile on his face.

"Yes, so you can see how I have always loved her." Kenshin replied.

"Of course.  As odd as this may sound, I believe you.  The two of you from the day I met you seemed to have some sort of strange connection.  Although it worried me at first, you proved that I could trust you.  I'm very happy that you have always been honest with me, and now I understand everything you have done here for the past 9 years.  It's as if despite how close we have always been, that now I truly know you.  And Kaoru…I'm so proud of her, for her strength, her courage.  It's a rather romantic story you know." Koshijiro said before he began to laugh.  "Let me ask you this, son-in-law…should _our_ Kaoru travel to the past, what will you do then?"

Kenshin frowned.  Many times he had thought about it.  It was then that he had understood his future-self's resentment of the whole situation when he had traveled to the future.  Had he not been half-mad at that point in his life, he would like to think that he would have been more reasonable, but at the same time, he felt deep down, that if he had to do it all over again, he would, and wouldn't change anything about it.  He loved Kaoru, desperately, insanely, madly, both of them.  He realized one was his, and the other was the other his, and that he was still he, but all the same…

"No answer for me Kenshin?" Koshijiro asked.

"No.  I have an answer…I would only hope, that I can not be jealous of myself, because I know that I need her in the past, just as much as I do now in the present, as well as how I know that I need her in the future.  I also know that no matter what, Kaoru will return back to the me of this time." He finally said.

Koshijiro nodded his head in agreement with Kenshin's answer.  "You have thought about it a lot haven't you."  He said as more of a statement than a question.  

Kenshin nodded his head while simply saying, "Yes."

Koshijiro leaned over and placed a hand on Kenshin's shoulder.  "I'm very proud of you too, Kenshin.  From the moment I met you, I have been impressed with your kindness, your knowledge, and the respect you have given me, despite that you are a much more skilled swordsmen than I am.  I know now, that you will take good care of my daughter forever, and that you will both always be happy.  Regardless of whether I am able to return to the two of you or not, I will always know that she is well loved in your care." He finished.

Then as Koshijiro stood to leave the dojo, for most likely the very last serious conversation he and Kenshin would have, he said, "I will be departing early in the morning, before Kaoru wakes.  I don't want this to be more painful for her than it already is.  Take care, Himura Kenshin, my son."  Then Koshijiro Kamiya turned to the door, and exited the room with a finality that left Kenshin breathless, and sad.

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A/N: Ok, I know this seems kind of short.  I'm SORRY!!  It was just that…if I continued from this point in one chapter, the chapter would have been too long. ^_^;;  

Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews!! I just love reviews; they make me want to update the story faster to make everybody happy! ;)

I wanted to also say the following:

**mystic wolf**:  I know…I thought about that when I was writing it to, but I figured that would keep it in for several reasons.  I wanted to get the idea across more than anything else, but I figured since they were in meiji era, that she had probably heard of castles, or perhaps even read some western books by that had castles and knights by the time she was 16.  Also, I was thinking that even if I had never seen a castle before, I would probably still daydream about that type of stuff myself, so I left it in, for lack of anything better, and figuring as long as everybody got the point, it worked out ;)

**sync*in**:  I will keep in mind that you love Heero for the next party.  ::eheheheheheheheh::

**Shadowmaster62**:  I know, I hear you, I was thinking the same thing myself when I uploaded the last party.  I was thinking though, that hopefully it wouldn't be every two chapters from now on.  I will see how it's going.  I doubt they will be this close together again.

**Jason M. Lee:**  I'm sorry for scaring you so much. ^_^;;  OI! Is it true that Kaoru's dad's name is really Koshijirou?!?!?  If it is, I will have to go through and change it on my story.  I don't want to have incorrect information like that in my fic.  ^_^;;

Anyhow!  I thought perhaps everybody would like another preview.  They seem to have gone over pretty well…

**So next time on How the Past can Change:**

Early the next morning, Kenshin was preparing breakfast for Kaoru and himself.  It was a beautiful morning, but Kenshin felt that it should be raining.  He was sad, Koshijiro was gone, and Kaoru would be devastated when she found out he left without saying goodbye to her.  

Koshijiro had left just before the sun began to rise, and after hearing his departure, Kenshin had got up to his morning routine. He knew he was not going to be able to rest, the anxiety of knowing that Kaoru would be upset when she woke was enough to have kept him up all night worrying about her.

As Kenshin was watching over the water he was boiling for their morning tea, Kaoru suddenly screamed out, "KENSHIN!!!!" 

Kenshin looked up from the steaming water and then broke into a run to find her.

ALL this and much more on the next exciting chapter of How the Past can Change!!  (Ok, I know, I've seen too much Dragon Ball Z! lol…)

So until then, take care everybody!

Bunny ;D


	28. Just You and Me

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**A/N:** This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Koshijiro leaned over and placed a hand on Kenshin's shoulder.  "I'm very proud of you too, Kenshin.  From the moment I met you, I have been impressed with your kindness, your knowledge, and the respect you have given me, despite that you are a much more skilled swordsmen than I am.  I know now, that you will take good care of my daughter forever, and that you will both always be happy.  Regardless of whether I am able to return to the two of you or not, I will always know that she is well loved in your care." He finished.

Then as Koshijiro stood to leave the dojo, for most likely the very last serious conversation he and Kenshin would have, he said, "I will be departing early in the morning, before Kaoru wakes.  I don't want this to be more painful for her than it already is.  Take care, Himura Kenshin, my son."  Then Koshijiro Kamiya turned to the door, and exited the room with a finality that left Kenshin breathless, and sad.

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Chapter Twenty-Five

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Early the next morning, Kenshin was preparing breakfast for Kaoru and himself.  It was a beautiful morning, but Kenshin felt that it should be raining.  He was sad, Koshijiro was gone, and Kaoru would be devastated when she found out he left without saying goodbye to her.  He had left just before the sun began to rise, and after hearing his departure, Kenshin had got up to his morning routine. He knew he was not going to be able to rest, the anxiety of knowing that Kaoru would be upset when she woke was enough to have kept him up all night worrying about her.

As Kenshin was watching over the water he was boiling for their morning tea, Kaoru suddenly screamed out, "KENSHIN!!!!" 

Kenshin looked up from the steaming water and then broke into a run to find her.  Almost ripping the door off of its slider in his haste, Kenshin finally found Kaoru in a heap on the floor of her Father's room.

"Kaoru!!" Kenshin exclaimed in worry as he knelt down beside her and started checking her over to see if she had been hurt, or had hurt herself.

"I'm not hurt you baka!" Kaoru exploded, slapping away his hands as she finally looked up at him.

As Kenshin slowly took in Kaoru's tears rolling down her cheeks, and the piece of paper crumpled up in her hands, understanding suddenly dawned on him.  Koshijiro had left Kaoru a goodbye letter, and Kaoru had just discovered that he had left without personally saying goodbye to her.  Kenshin frowned as he tentatively placed his arms around her small form.

"I'm sorry Kaoru.  You scared me, I thought you had been hurt, or someone had tried to hurt you." He whispered into her hair.

Kaoru sniffed as she clutched onto her best friend for the past 9 years of her life and said, "It's ok Kenshin, how were you supposed to know that Dad would just leave us like that?"

Kenshin gulped, guiltily.

Noticing Kenshin's nervous gesture, Kaoru pulled herself slightly away from him and stared into his violet orbs for a moment, looking for the truth.  "You knew!" she suddenly exploded while rising to her feet and pointing an accusing finger at the man on the floor.

Kenshin cowered deeper into the floor, hoping Kaoru would go easy on him for not telling her.

"How could he!!?" she began.  "I can't believe he would tell **_YOU_** goodbye and not **ME**!!  Aren't **_I_** the one that's related to him?  Am I not his blood, and sole heir!! You would **_THINK_** that he would have had the decency to say goodbye to me before probably marching away to his death!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs gesturing widely about with her arms.

Kenshin, noticing that Kaoru was too upset at her Father to hit him with the closest object, slowly stood and grabbing her arms, engulfed her in a protective hug before she could hurt herself.  "Shhh, shhh, everything will be ok." He soothed, while patting her hair.

Before getting comfortable though, Kaoru violently pushed Kenshin away.  "NO," she yelled, "It is NOT ok, ok?  I'm so upset how could he do this to me?" She began once again.

Kenshin sighed, knowing that from the looks of it, it would be a long time before the object of his affection calmed down.

Hearing Kenshin's sigh of defeat, Kaoru turned on him.  "And you!!" she yelled at him, once again pointing an accusatory finger at him.  "Why didn't you tell me he was going to do this?  How could you keep something like this from me, Kenshin?" she questioned, now on the verge of breaking down into more tears.

Kenshin's expression turned to one of agony as he moaned out, "Kaoru, please don't be mad at me.  It was beyond my power to tell you."

Seeing Kenshin's sincerity in his pained look, Kaoru waved her hand as if to dismiss the topic.  Then she handed Kenshin a piece of paper.  "Here, Dad left this one for you." She said before she turned away from Kenshin and sank onto her knees on the floor.

Kenshin glanced at the letter, and then back at the small form on the floor.  "Kaoru…" he began, wishing he could take away her pain.

"No Kenshin." Kaoru said cutting him off.  "Don't say anything, just-just go away.  I need to be alone right now." She finally choked out.

Kenshin frowned is disapproval, but did as she said.  She was upset, and pressing it would get him nowhere.  Kaoru would talk to him when she was ready, or so he hoped.  Besides that, he was in no position to tell her what she should or shouldn't do, and he wasn't about to cross over that line with her.  It would be disrespectful. Considered to be family by Koshijiro or not, he was unsure of how Kaoru felt about him.  Since drawing away from her these past few years, he had become insecure about her feelings.  Was it all just a silly childhood crush?  Did she see him as an older brother, or did she see him as a man that was in love with her?  She had said in her anger that she considered him to be her best friend.  But what did that mean?  Kenshin sighed.  He had wanted the friendship...  From seeing his future self, and the future Kaoru together, he had resolved to become Kaoru's friend before anything else, when he met her.  Friendship wasn't enough though.  Sighing, Kenshin slumped his form onto the porch and opened the sealed paper from his father-in-law.

          _Kenshin,_

I know you are probably wondering why I have written a letter to you, being that we closed up all our lose ends in our conversation last night.  However, after much thought, I determined that I needed to clarify a few things for you.  Firstly, you may be wondering why I did not ask you if you knew of my own future, when you confessed to me knowing Kaoru when she was 19 years of age.  The answer is simple, I don't want to know what my future holds, and I do not wish to know if I will live through this trip or not.  Although, I am interested in knowing what will become of Kaoru, and I'm happy that I do.  The second thing is that, in case I wasn't obvious enough in our family meeting, the time has come for me to give my blessing on your intentions towards my daughter.  

Good luck to you Kenshin,

_          Kamiya Koshijiro_

Kenshin looked up from the letter, and across the courtyard to the cherry blossom tree he had observed Kaoru from before moving into the home himself.  A lone tear streaked down his cheek at the loss of his friend, and father.  He exhaled a deep sigh and covered his face with his one empty hand, the letter hanging from his other hand that was slung over his knee, and tried to clear his mind.  

Attempting to clear his mind of his troubles though, proved to be futile.  He found himself reminiscing of good times with Koshijiro while at the same time, worrying over Kaoru, and then all in the same, trying to decide how to act around Kaoru.  He had been waiting for 9 years, and now that Koshijiro had given his blessing on Kenshin acting upon his suppressed emotions, he didn't know what to do.  Kaoru would need time to adjust to her Father being away, and so did he.  He also didn't want to move to quickly…

The sound of the door sliding open broke into Kenshin's thoughts, and he looked behind him to see Kaoru coming out of Koshijiro's room.  She gave him a weak smile and then sat down next to him on the porch, her eyes on the cherry trees just outside of the property.

Wisely, Kenshin remained silent and turned to look toward the trees himself.  

"Hey," Kaoru said to him after only a minute or two.

Kenshin looked away from the trees to the young woman sitting beside him for a minute, only to discover that her gaze was still fixed on the trees.

"Hey," Kenshin whispered back to her.

Kaoru let out a deep sigh, and then turned towards her redheaded friend.  "Kenshin, it's going to be ok right?  I mean, it's not like he's dead, he'll be back in no time right?" she asked him, her voice hopeful.

Kenshin smiled.  "I hope so." He said.

Kaoru sighed.  "So, it's just you and me until then." She said.

"Yeah, just you and me." Kenshin agreed.

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End of Chapter 25.

A/N:  I'm SOOO sorry for not updating.  I have been MIA for the past couple of months for various personal and work – related reasons.  I've been extremely busy.  In any case, I'm going to start on Chapter 26 today, so hopefully I can get somewhere on it and post it up by EOD.  I took today off as a vacation, so it gave me a bit of time to catch up on these types of things.

Don't forget to review.  I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter…it's a bit dramatic.  O_o;;

hineko – I tried emailing this to you to beta read, but it bounced back.  Can you send me your new email addy?  ^_^

Till next time ;)

Bunny ;D

p.s.  hi chibi-angel and hana!


	29. To Blow Something You Waited 10 Years Fo...

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**A/N:** This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Kaoru let out a deep sigh, and then turned towards her redheaded friend.  "Kenshin, it's going to be ok right?  I mean, it's not like he's dead, he'll be back in no time right?" she asked him, her voice hopeful.

Kenshin smiled.  "I hope so." He said.

Kaoru sighed.  "So, it's just you and me until then." She said.

"Yeah, just you and me." Kenshin agreed.

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Chapter Twenty-Six

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~ Dinner that Night ~

Kaoru sat across from Kenshin that night eating her fish and rice, wondering about her Father.  'I wonder where he is right now?  He has been gone since the middle of the night…' She let out a deep sigh, and then stuffed some more fish into her mouth.  Glancing up at Kenshin, she remembered her Father's words to the two of them before he left… _"You will have to take care of each other now." _She sighed again, remembering how he had placed her hand into Kenshin's before saying those words.  'What **_exactly_** did he mean by that?' she wondered.  "Hey Kenshin," she said to get his attention.

Kenshin looked up at Kaoru from his own dinner, and said, "yes?" letting her know she had his attention.

"Kenshin…what do you think Dad was trying to say to us before he left?" she asked.

Kenshin almost choked on the rice he had just placed into his mouth, but quickly covered by taking a gulp of water.  Then clearing his throat, he said calmly, "Well, uh…what did **_you_** think he meant?" he said, turning her question back onto her.

Kaoru looked thoughtful for a moment.  Kenshin tried hard not to show how adorable he thought it was when she was thinking like that.  It reminded him so much of the way she would look when she was younger right before she would tell him that she was going to marry him when she grew up.  Then realizing what he was thinking, his heart started pounding.  'What if she is going to say that she thinks he meant we should get married now?  Should I do it?  I don't know…' he frantically clutched at his chopsticks as he awaited her response. 

Then Kaoru said, "well, actually…I'm not sure, but I think he was trying to say that now you are going to take my his place in my life. You know, since you have always been like my big brother anyways."

Kenshin dropped his chopsticks and began choking.  'ORO!' he thought.  'She thinks of me as a father figure?  BIG BROTHER?!!!'

Kaoru got a satisfied smirk on her face as she asked Kenshin if he was all right and handed him his cup of water.  'Interesting.' She thought to herself as Kenshin gulped down the water.  'Maybe he was serious about marrying me after all.  Why else would he get so choked up at my father figure reference?  Unless, he is just upset because he thinks I'm saying that he's old.  Oh no!  What if now he thinks he is too old to marry me?  Kaoru you baka!' Kaoru's smirk turned into a frown with her twist of thoughts, while Kenshin finally recovered and casually picked his fallen chopsticks back up.

"That's funny that you said that, you know, since you used to always tell me we would get married when you were old enough."  Kenshin said nonchalantly.  

Kaoru's eyes widened at his words, and her cheeks flushed.  "Oh well," Kaoru said as she began to nervously giggle, "you know, I was just being a silly little girl."  She said as she continued to giggle, her blush becoming more and more noticeable. 

Kenshin smiled at her blush.  'I wonder what that means.' He thought before saying, "Oh.  Well then, I guess I will have to start looking for a wife." He said as if he was talking about the weather. 

Kaoru's jaw dropped.  'WHAT?' her mind screamed.  'What did he just say?' she asked herself in horrified shock. To make matters worse, he continued, "I was planning on keeping that promise I made you when I first arrived, but you know, if you were just playing games, then…well…" he paused and looked hurt, yet mischievous all at once before he finally said, "anyhow, I suppose it's time for me to get to bed.  We have training early tomorrow morning before the students come.  So be ready.  Goodnight, Kaoru."  Kenshin finished as he stood and then retreated to his bedroom.

Kaoru sat there in stunned silence.  'Was he being serious, or was he just teasing me?' she wondered. "Well, he certainly looked like he was hiding something from me." She mumbled under her breath as she began to clear the table. "Find himself a wife, he says." She continued to mumble.  "He had better not, that baka red-head." She threatened to the dirty dishes in the sink.

After washing the dishes and preparing herself for bed, Kaoru left her room, deciding she had too much on her mind to go to sleep.  She rounded the corner of the property and then quietly jumped up onto the roof.  She sat down and gazed at the stars while trying to figure out the man she was living with.  'Is he just playing with me?' she wondered.

She remembered how seriously he used to promise to make her his bride.  On many occasions she had asked him if they could talk about what things would be like when she was older and they got married, especially when she was younger.  As she had started to mature, it had been less frequent, but they had still talked about it as if they would certainly get married.  It had been years though, since the last time they had discussed it.

~ Flashback ~

The day before her 13th birthday, Kaoru had been sparring with Kenshin in the dojo.  Since coming to live with them, he had quickly mastered Kamiya Kasshin Ryu and had since then assisted her Father in teaching the students, as well as in Kaoru's personal training.  He had also taught her a few other things from what he referred to as his "original technique" and it had proved to make Kaoru a very skilled swordswoman.  Towards the end of their session, Kenshin had said to her, "Kaoru, one day, you will be the best female samurai in Japan."

Kaoru had blushed and said, "why, because I'm going to be your other half when I marry you?"

Kenshin had laughed and smiled at her as he re-sheathed his sword.  "I don't know if I am the best, but if you think so then, yes, for that reason too." He answered as he took a step closer to her.  She smiled up at him and dropped her sword down to her side at Kenshin's approach.  Once they were almost face-to-face, he reached behind her and pulled on her hair ribbon, freeing her long ebony hair.  Kaoru felt it cascading down her back and blushed as Kenshin ran his fingers through it and said, "you are so beautiful, my Kaoru."

"Oh Kenshin," she sighed as she leaned onto his chest, "how much longer will we have to wait?"

Kenshin gently placed his arms around her and said, "at least a few years.  I wish it wasn't so long, but that is the way it has to be."

Kaoru had cuddled herself in a bit more, relishing in the comfort of his arms.  He hadn't held her since she had been little, and besides their occasional references to it, they rarely spoke of their marriage promise seriously anymore.  Enjoying the rare moment, she sighed contentedly when Kenshin had suddenly stiffened.

A second later, she heard her Father yelling, "what are you doing?!?!" at them.

Kaoru had jumped out of Kenshin's embrace and turned to her angry father, wondering what he was so upset about. He was scowling, but not at her, at Kenshin.  'Lie. Lie. Lie.' A voice in her said.  Biting her lip, because she hated to be dishonest she yelled out, "what's wrong daddy?  I was just upset and Kenshin was comforting me, like a good big brother would!"

Koshijiro's frown had remained though, as he pointed an accusing finger at them and said, "Then why is your hair down like that?"

Kaoru had smiled innocently at her father and replied, "It came undone while we were sparring."

Koshijiro had complied and left the dojo, but not before threateningly glaring behind her once more at Kenshin.  Kaoru turned back to see Kenshin frowning down at his hands and shaking his head.

"Kenshin?" she had called to him.

Kenshin looked up at her and said, "Sorry, I need to go." Then he had quickly walked out of the dojo.

Since then, things had never been the same between them.

~ End Flashback ~

Kaoru brought her knees up to her chest to warm herself on the cool night, and let out a deep sigh.  'So where exactly does that leave us now?  What if he was being serious with me tonight?  I don't think I can bear to see him showing an interest in anyone besides me.  I've always known we were meant to be together.  It was never a silly girl crush.  Why did I have to say that to him?' she wondered.  'Because, I was embarrassed.' She admitted to herself.

She gazed up at the stars and a lone tear slide down her face.  'Did I just blow something that I have been waiting almost 10 years for?' she asked herself, becoming more depressed.  She let out another long sigh.

"Are you ok Kaoru?" Kenshin asked as he jumped up onto the roof to join her.

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End Chapter 26.

A/N:  YAY!! I'm so proud of myself!! 2 chapters! Whee!!  This one had lots of K&K too. Huh?  YAY YAY YAY!!!  K&K is good!!  I'm so happy that I finally got to just sit down and write about them.  I think there have been much to many necessary evils of other character involvement in this fic, but like I said, they were necessary.  It makes the K&K parts that much better dontcha think?  The good news is there should be quite a bit more K&K from here on out, and the next few chapters should be mostly about just them two.  There will probably be more flashbacks too.  This is why I skipped over those 9 years.  I wanted them to be presented as memories.  Anyhow, many many thanks to everybody who is reviewing!  I really appreciate it.  It makes me want to write more, and sooner!  In any case, just so you know, since a few of you mentioned it…there is still quite a bit that will happen before this story wraps up.  You will see…I'm not giving out any spoilers though ;P  ::hehe::

Anyhow, till next time!  (I'm starting on Chapter 27 right now!)

Bunny ;D

Yes, now…click that button, and review.  Comon, you know you want to ;)


	30. 500 Review Party!

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**~ The Long Awaited 500 Review Special ~**

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Bunny sat quietly at her computer tapping away quickly on her keyboard while she desperately tried to answer all her emails, add 200 more Sailor Uranus pictures to the princessserneity.net gallery, download love hina mp3s, and update the multimedia files onto her new multimedia server at the same time.  Just as 'I am Sailor Moon' began blaring from the new radio station hosted by her site, she threw her hands up into the air in disgust and let out a maniac scream.  Thereafter, she proceeded to pound her head onto her computer desk. 

Two gentle hands grasped Bunny's head and halted her self-destructive activity.  "Are you ok Bunny?" ask the concerned rurouni who was currently a permanent house guest.

Bunny moaned in frustration as Kenshin moved her head back up to look at him.

While looking into his concerned violet orbs, Bunny couldn't help but have a quick daydream of only writing romance stories about the man currently bringing her back to the sane world.  "Oh Kenshin…" she sighed as she flung her arms around his waist and let out a self-pitying whimper.  "Why can't I just sit around all day and write love stories about you and Kaoru?"

Kenshin blushed from embarrassment.  "Ano…" he began just as his younger counterpart walked in through the door yelling out, "Are you ok Bunny?"

Bunny released her hold on Kenshin and looked over to the younger version of the man she had just been speaking with and smiled.  "I'm ok, I'm ok." She said waving her hand as if to say 'no worries.'

Battousai frowned.  "I heard you scream though." He said.  "Did he do something to you?" he continued while pointing an accusing finger towards the rurouni.

The older Kenshin held both of his hands up showing his innocence.  "It was all Bunny." He said looking towards the now giggling girl in the computer chair.

"I was just going crazy you know how I stress myself out by taking on too much." Bunny explained to both of the concerned redheads.

The Kenshins shared a glace at each other and frowned at Bunny.  She just sighed and turned her attention back to the computer screen.

"I have an idea!" Kenshin yelled out jubilantly before Bunny had a chance to resume her quick typing.

Bunny and Battousai turned toward Kenshin wondering what he was suddenly so excited about.

"Let's see if you got your 500 reviews yet Bunny!" Kenshin exclaimed.

Remembering her lovely 'I only write RK Romance FanFiction all day' daydream, Bunny jumped out of her chair and threw her arms around Kenshin's neck.  "What a great idea Kenshin! You're so wonderful! I just love you so much you're such a great friend!" she exclaimed while hugging him and jumping up and down.

Kenshin's eyes swirled and he fell on the floor as Bunny released him.  She turned to Battousai at the "thud" and said, "What's wrong with Kenshin?"

Battousai scowled jealously at the swirly-eyed rurouni lying on the floor and then glanced at Bunny and said, "It was too much for him."

Bunny blinked in confusion.  

Battousai sighed to himself 'that girl is so dense sometimes' he thought.  "Let's see if you got all your reviews yet." He said to her as he took her hand and led her back to her computer chair.

"Ok." Bunny said as she sat down and logged into fanfiction.net.  A few seconds later, Bunny was out of her chair again, this time jumping up and down with her arms around the young assassin.  "Whoo hooo!!  We got 500 reviews Kenshin!! Can you believe it?" she squealed.

"Mmmm…yeah." Battousai murmured as he put his arms around the jumping girl and pulled her closer.

Kenshin finally snapped out of his stupor, only to witness his younger self pull the un-suspecting Bunny closer and place one of his hands on her– "You pervert!" he yelled indignantly as he jumped up and yanked Bunny out of Battousai's arms and swung her into his own.

Battousai blinked at the loss of warmth and then scowled at his older self.  "Hey!" he said in annoyance.

"I can't believe you tried to do that to Bunny!  She's too old for you, and-"Kenshin stopped mid-sentence, for some reason not wanting to reveal his secret to Bunny.  After all, it _was_ his secret too. 

Bunny looked on in confusion as the two Kenshin's fought once more.  She sighed.  "You two can work this out." She began, "I'm going to call everybody and invite them over for our 500 Review Party."

As she began to pull away from Kenshin's protective embrace, he strengthened his hold on her.  "No.  I'm coming with you." He said to her as he kept one arm around her and walked her past his angry younger self and out of the room.

"What was that all about?" Bunny whispered from under Kenshin's arm as the entered into the hallway.

"I'll tell you later.  Let's call everybody up first." He replied.

"Kay."  Bunny said as they entered the living room, picked up a couple of phones and began dialing.  While still on their first phone calls, the front door burst open and TaioraCrazedGirl stood there holding her cell phone in one hand.  "I'm HERE!  I'm here! I'm here!" she shouted to them with a large grin.  "FINALLY the 500 Review Party!" she exclaimed as she approached Bunny and Kenshin and gave them both a big hug.  "Nice to meetcha!" She said as she released them.

Bunny hung-up her cell phone and grinned at Taiora.  "Wow! That was really fast!  I'm so happy you could make it!" She said excitedly.

"Taiora!!  You were too fast for me to keep up!" ArtemisMoon complained leaning up against the doorway, and gasping for air.

Bunny grinned as she walked over to ArtemisMoon (Kenshin right behind her) with one hand extended, "You must be ArtemisMoon!  Welcome to my review party!" she said.

ArtemisMoon hugged Bunny and said, "Thank you for inviting me!  This is going to be so exciting I'm sure!"

"Kenshin!!!" Bunny yelled at the top of her lungs.

A moment later, the younger Kenshin appeared in the room.  He raised an eyebrow at Bunny.

"Can you please get the bar going?  The guests are already arriving and I'm sure they would like some drinks!" Bunny said to Battousai.

"Sure." Battousai replied as he headed over to the kitchen to get some ice and glasses.

"Bunny," Kenshin said to get her attention as she was chatting away with ArtemisMoon and TaioraCrazedGirl.  

"Yes?" Bunny asked.

"I must insist that you handcuff yourself to me for this entire party de gozaru."  He said.

Bunny, ArtemisMoon, TaioraCrazedGirl, and the just arrived, standing in the doorway Susan all gasped.  Susan dropped the 2-liter bottles of soda she had brought as Bunny punched Kenshin in the face while screaming "HENTAI!!"  

Kenshin hit the carpet while grabbing onto his face.  "Not like that Bunny!" he exclaimed from the floor.

A moment later Jason M. Lee sauntered in through the door with Hana Himura slung over his shoulder.  "Missing a Hana Himura?" he asked Bunny as he lowered the comatose girl onto one of Bunny's sofas.

Bunny's eyes widened in shock, "What happened to her?" she asked.

Jason shrugged.  "I'm not sure.  I found her lying out on your front lawn, but my guess would be that she ate too much chocolate.  See how it's all over her face and in her hands?" he added pointing out the melted chocolate.

Bunny placed one hand over her mouth worried over her friend.  She had heard that eating too much chocolate could have some very interesting side-effects.  She stepped around Jason and placed one hand on Hana's forehead as if to see if she had a temperature.

Meanwhile, the older Kenshin was busy hand-cuffing himself to the completely un-aware Bunny.  'I have to protect her from HIM.' He thought to himself.  Just as he clicked the last cuff closed, the door opened again, and in walked all of Bunny's guy friends she had invited to the last party.  He scowled at "Prince Trunks" as he entered, but noted with a bit of satisfaction the scar on his face, he had from his younger self's sword.  

Kenshin pulled Bunny a bit closer to him as once again Trunks bent down to give Bunny a peck on the cheek and a greeting.

"Hey Trunks…" Bunny said.  "I hope you are feeling a bit better than when you left last time.  I'm sorry about all this mess, but you know, you really shouldn't have let those rumors spread."  Bunny crossed her arms as if too prove her point.  The bad thing about that was her right arm included one red-headed rurouni by the name of Kenshin.

"ORO!" Kenshin exclaimed at the tug on his arm.

Bunny's eyes widened in shock and horror as she realized she was handcuffed to Kenshin.

Duo, Quatre and Trunks all fell on the floor laughing their heads off at Kenshin and Bunny as she began to scream at Kenshin.  "This isn't FUNNY!" she yelled to the laughing boys on the floor before continuing to scream at Kenshin.  Susan and Battousai were busy going through all of Duo's records and re-organizing his set while Taiora and ArtemisMoon sat on the couch chatting with the other arrivals, and the just wakened from chocolate overdose Hana Himura.

Bunny was insisting to Kenshin that he remove the handcuffs when sync*in walked in through the door hanging off of Heero.  "Hey Bunny!" she called across the room.  "Hey sync*in!! I'm really happy you could make it!" Bunny paused to say before continuing to argue with Kenshin.  Sync*in and Heero caught a bit of Bunny's conversation as they passed her and Kenshin on their way to the bar.

"I can't take the handcuffs off Bunny, I swallowed the key!" Kenshin explained.

"Dammit Kenshin! Why would you do something stupid like that!  I really don't need you handcuffed to me for you to protect me!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

Sync*in and Heero looked at each other in surprise at the things they had heard, and then continued over to Battousai who was now mixing up a drink for Susan.  "What's going on with Kenshin and Bunny?" Heero asked Susan and Battousai.  Susan just burst out laughing manically while Battousai scowled.  Not getting an answer they both turned to observe the two once again.

Bunny was about to begin to strangle Kenshin when chibi_angel, battousai angel, and Gypsy-chan walked in through the front door.  "Hey Bunny!" the three of them shouted over the music Duo had just started playing as they came in and closed the door.  Bunny looked up and grinned at them.  Finally giving up on getting out to the handcuffs, Bunny decided to make do and kill Kenshin later.  She took Kenshin's hand in her own, in an attempt to hide the handcuffs and walked across the room so she could greet her guests properly at the door.

"We brought ice cream!" chibi_angel exclaimed in glee to Bunny as she and Kenshin reached them.  

"We brought your favorite too!" battousai angel added lifting up a carton of chocolate chip.

"YAY!" Bunny exclaimed as she grabbed the carton with her one free hand.

Gypsy-chan, being the observant gal she is raised her eyebrow while looking at Kenshin and Bunny's hands.  "So, what happened with you two?" she asked them.

Bunny practically growled as she was reminded of her situation, while Kenshin feigned innocence.  "Nothing." They both replied.

Noting their looks, Gypsy-chan decided not to press further…for now.  'Once those two have a couple of drinks though, I'm going to find out!' she promised to herself.  "Hey Battousai!" she called out.

Battousai looked up from the martini he was currently making for Heero, who still had sync*in still hanging onto his arm at the bar.  "What?" he yelled back.

"Get us some drinks over here when you are done with that ok?" Gypsy-chan yelled back.

"Fine." He replied.

Chibi_angel and battousai angel made their way through the crowd and started dancing next to the speakers.  Duo looked to be in his element as he kept spinning one record after another.

Bunny, Kenshin and Gypsy-chan were sipping on their drinks at the door, while reminiscing about the past three parties, Bunny and Kenshin's hands still locked together.  'I don't get it!' Gypsy-chan thought as once again the front door opened.

"Hey Sagara Sanosuke!" Bunny exclaimed.

"Hey little missy!" Sano replied to Bunny.  "Looks like you got a great party going on here.  I'm going to go have some sake and hit on some cute chicks ok?" he said before making his way into the room.  Bunny shook her head as Kenshin just stood next to her and smiled.

"Should we maybe, go dance now?" Kenshin asked Bunny as they watched Sano hit Battousai up for some sake at the bar.

Bunny shook her head. "No.  We need to wait for a couple more people to show up." Bunny replied.

"Ok." Kenshin said as the front door opened again.

"Bunny!" exclaimed Koneko-dono and Macy as they both walked in and threw their arms around the small blonde.

"Girls!!" Bunny squealed back while in her excitement she forgot she was tied up to Kenshin and threw her arms around her latest arrivals.

Gypsy-chan spotted the handcuffs right away and began laughing as Kenshin 'oroed' over Bunny's sudden jerk on his arm.  As Bunny pulled back from the two girls, Koneko-dono's eyes widened.  

"Bunny," Koneko-dono began, "um…why are you handcuffed to Kenshin?" she inquired.

Surprisingly, Bunny smiled.  "We're having a love affair." She stated flatly.

Kenshin almost fell over, but Bunny, foreseeing his reaction, caught him and didn't let him fall.  

Macy's eyes popped out of her head, and her camera popped out of her pocket as she quickly began to snap pictures of the funny couple.

"Really?" Koneko-dono and Gypsy-chan asked Bunny.

"Of course not!  I don't know what this baka red-head was thinking, but he seems to have handcuffed himself to me in hopes that something like what happened last time, wouldn't happen again, or something like that." Bunny replied in annoyance.

Macy, Koneko-dono and Gypsy-chan all began laughing.  "That's pretty funny Bunny." Gypsy-chan said.  "Well, now that I know why you two were holding hands since I arrived, I'm going to get in a dance with the younger Kenshin before this party ends." She continued before heading off to the dance floor.  Macy and Koneko-dono quickly followed after her, still giggling at how funny Bunny and Kenshin were.

"Well.  Are you satisfied now?" Bunny asked Kenshin once they were standing by the door alone, still cuffed to each other.

Kenshin smiled sweetly at Bunny.  "Yes.  I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble though." He replied.

Bunny sighed.  There was no way she couldn't forgive him when he smiled at her like that.  "I'm still going to kill you later." She said before grabbing his hand and dragging him onto the dance area, her drink in one hand, and a crazy rurouni cuffed to the other.

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The End of the 500 Review Party is now.

Let me know what you want for the next party (if there is one.)  Be specific too, because it helps me have more fun with it.  I've been working on this party for 2 weeks as it is. ;)  

Till Next Time,

Bunny ;D


	31. There are a lot of Things about Me You D...

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**A/N:** This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Kaoru brought her knees up to her chest to warm herself on the cool night, and let out a deep sigh.  'So where exactly does that leave us now?  What if he was being serious with me tonight?  I don't think I can bear to see him showing an interest in anyone besides me.  I've always known we were meant to be together.  It was never a silly girl crush.  Why did I have to say that to him?' she wondered.  'Because, I was embarrassed.' She admitted to herself.

She gazed up at the stars and a lone tear slide down her face.  'Did I just blow something that I have been waiting almost 10 years for?' she asked herself, becoming more depressed.  She let out another long sigh.

"Are you ok Kaoru?" Kenshin asked as he jumped up onto the roof to join her.

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Chapter Twenty-Seven

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Kaoru hastily wiped away the wetness in her eyes as Kenshin lowered himself to sit down next to her.  "I'm ok.  I was just thinking about" she paused knowing she didn't want to share with him what she was REALLY thinking about, "…stuff." She finished lamely before adding,"I couldn't sleep and so I decided to spend sometime stargazing."  She replied.

"Yes, the stars are very pretty tonight aren't they Kaoru?"  Kenshin replied.  'So are you…' he added in his head.

"They are." Kaoru whispered back.  She gazed up at the stars again for a moment and then chanced a side glance at Kenshin, and let out a small gasp as she discovered that he was in fact, facing her.

"What were you thinking about?" Kenshin's asked as Kaoru quickly reverted her eyes back up at the stars.

Kaoru let out a long sigh.  "Oh, you know…anything and everything.  I was remembering…things." She offered, half hoping he would guess what she was referring to, and half begging him to not understand what she really meant.

"Well, that's only normal; to remember things when you feel like someone has been taken out of your life suddenly." Kenshin replied sadly.  

Noting the tone in Kenshin's voice, Kaoru turned to face him.  "What do you mean?  You sound as if you are talking from experience." She asked.

Kenshin smiled and placed one of his hands behind his head.  He let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, I am.  It's all in the past though." He replied trying to drop the topic he had accidentally brought up.  'I hope she doesn't press this.  I can't tell her about traveling to the past to meet me.' He worried to himself.

'I wonder who he is talking about?  His family perhaps?  Did Kenshin have a romance during the war he never told me about?' she began to worry.  'Well, I shouldn't press it; he seems to want to drop the subject…' she reasoned.  Instead of holding her tongue though, she said, "Oh really?  I had no idea you had someone taken out of her life suddenly.  Who was it?"  Kaoru asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Kenshin momentarily frowned, but then catching himself, pasted on an innocent smile.  "Oh you know, my family." He replied and then smiled again.

"Oh.  It sounded to me as if you meant someone other than your family." Kaoru replied dejectedly.

Kenshin turned to the side and leaned back on his elbows and gazed up at the stars.  "Well, Kaoru…there are a lot of things about me that I need to tell you.  I don't think that right now is the proper time though, you know…with Dad just leaving us behind to fight in the unrest down south and everything.  You don't need to here about all my old problems.  They're all in the past anyways."  He said.

Kaoru mimicked Kenshin and leaned back on her elbows next to him.  "I guess your right." She said.  "Someday you will have to tell me everything about you though, you know.  Even though you are my best friend, you have so many secrets from me." She added.

Kenshin's breath caught in his throat and he put his head down so his bangs would cover the tears that pricked his eyes at her words.  'She said you were her best friend,' he repeated to himself in his head, his heart swelling in over-whelming happiness.  'I've been waiting so long for Kaoru to say that to me.' He thought as he remembered when he had traveled to the future and seen his future self with the Kaoru who saved him from the war and the special relationship that they shared.  'I have that now.' He said to himself in complete bliss.  He quickly blinked the wetness out of his eyes and then scooted over closer to Kaoru so that they were shoulder-to-shoulder, elbow-to-elbow, hip-to-hip and foot-to-foot.  "You're my best friend too." He said as he tilted his head back to look at the stars.  "In fact, you are my favorite person in the whole world." He added lovingly.

Kaoru had watched as Kenshin scooted closer to her, and now she stared at him with a large grin on her face at his words.  "Really?" she questioned.

Kenshin finally turned to look at her and met her blue eyes with his own and said, "Really."

"Even more than Dad?" she probed.

"Even more than Dad." He affirmed.

Kaoru smiled even bigger and then dropped her head to rest on his shoulder.  "You're my favorite person too.  You always have been." She said.

Kenshin pulled Kaoru into his arms and hugged her tightly to him.  Kaoru hugged back; thrilled at how much attention he was giving her after all the years of wondering what had happened.  'I'm happy that I have Kenshin.  Regardless of what our future holds, together or not, I will always be happy that he is a part of my life.' She thought to herself as she closed her eyes and began to doze off.

After only a minute or two of hugging Kaoru, Kenshin pulled back slightly and noticed right away that Kaoru had fallen asleep.  He brushed her bangs away from her drooped down head and then pulled her back into his arms and stood up, carrying her with him.  He stepped over to the edge of the roof, and then silently jumped down onto the porch and walked to her room.  He slid open her door, and gently lowered her into her futon and pulled the covers up over her sleeping form.

As he began to pull away from her to return to his own bedroom, Kaoru suddenly grabbed onto his wrist, he eyes flying open.

"What's wrong?" he asked, alarmed at her sudden change.

"Stay here." She requested in barely more than a soft whisper.

Kenshin's eyes widened.  He opened his mouth to reply, but Kaoru stopped him.  "Kenshin, please stay with me.  Don't leave me alone.  I don't want to be alone, stay with me like you used to when I was little." She begged.

Once again Kenshin hesitated and opened his mouth to protest, but his protest died as she continued, "Dad isn't here to get mad at you for sleeping with me now."  She began to gently tug on his arm that she held at his wrist, and Kenshin felt his resolve melting as he slowly slipped under the covers with her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you." Kaoru said sweetly before yawning and once again falling into a deep sleep.

Kenshin wanted to feel like this was wrong in every way, but it felt too right, and he was too tired to think much about it.  It had been one of the longest days of his life, and he had been up all of the previous night.  Wrong or not, now was the time to sleep.  So he closed his eyes and pulled Kaoru closer, hoping that they would be able to work everything out between them, and sooner, rather than later, because he patience was running out.

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Well, that's about it for chapter 27.  Did you like it?  I've been mulling all the things I wanted to happen in this chapter (and the upcoming chapters) over in my head for the past couple of weeks, and I'm hoping it turned out for the best.  Anyhow, lemme know.

Sorry for getting your hopes up for an update when I uploaded the party (to those of you who complained) but the parties come and I **did** put on the summary that it was the 500 review party, and not a new chapter.  In any case, I was able to whip this chapter up real quick once I finished the party ne?

Thanks Again Everybody for all your Support and Feedback, it's much appreciated. J

Till the Next WAFFy K&K Chapter,

Bunny ;D


	32. An Understanding

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**A/N:** This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once again Kenshin hesitated and opened his mouth to protest, but his protest died as she continued, "Dad isn't here to get mad at you for sleeping with me now."  She began to gently tug on his arm that she held at his wrist, and Kenshin felt his resolve melting as he slowly slipped under the covers with her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you." Kaoru said sweetly before yawning and once again falling into a deep sleep.

Kenshin wanted to feel like this was wrong in every way, but it felt too right and he was too tired to think much about it.  It had been one of the longest days of his life, and he had been up all of the previous night.  Wrong or not, now was the time to sleep.  So he closed his eyes and pulled Kaoru closer, hoping that they would be able to work everything out between them, and sooner, rather than later, because he patience was running out.

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Chapter Twenty-Eight

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'Mmmm.  Kenshin.' Karou thought as she began to wake early the next morning.  Remembering that he had agreed to stay with her the night before, Kaoru wigged closer to the other side of the bed to get more warmth from her dearest friend.  After moving at least a foot across her futon, Kaoru grumpily opened an eye only to discover that Kenshin was in fact, no where to be seen.  'MOU!' Kaoru thought as she pouted to herself for a minute, reaching over to feel where he slept as if he would magically appear if she wished it enough.  Her frown lifted a bit as she discovered that Kenshin's side of the bed was still warm.  'So he hasn't been up long.' She thought.  'Why didn't he wake me up?  Why did he have to go and leave like that?' Kaoru slightly fumed.  She had been looking forward to seeing what he looked like first thing in the morning, but like most of her other wishes concerning Kenshin, it was not to come true…or so she thought.  With a slight frown of disappointment finding a permanent place on her face, Kaoru forced herself to get out of bed and dress.

As she walked into the kitchen a cheerful Kenshin greeted her. "Good morning Kaoru!" he said as he placed two hot bowls of miso soup on the table and took his place across from Kaoru.

"Mou!  Kenshin, why didn't you wake me up?" Karou said as she picked up her bowl and began to cautiously sip her hot miso.

Kenshin smiled before replying, "You looked too peaceful.  I wanted to let you get in a bit more rest.  We are going to have a rough training session today."  Kenshin smiled again, before adding, "Besides, you always sleep in longer than I do." 

Kaoru slapped her empty bowl down on the table and crossed her arms across her chest.  "Is that so?" she replied.  "Since when did you know what time I wake up every morning?  It's not like you've ever stayed with me the whole night!" she exclaimed.

Kenshin grinned.  "You sound disappointed." He commented at her outburst.

Kaoru's entire face flushed.  "KENSHIN!" she exclaimed, too embarrassed to say anything else.

Kenshin chuckled and startled Kaoru further by reaching across the table and taking one of her hands in his.  "Kaoru." He began in all seriousness, "The day I decided to stay here I promised your Father that I would always protect you.  That includes knowing where you are and what you are doing at all times."  He finished.

Still blushing, Kaoru snatched her hand out of Kenshin's and replied with nothing more than a lame, "oh."

'She's so cute when she's embarrassed.' Kenshin thought as he stood with the dirty bowls and headed to the sink to wash them.

Karou, in some-what of a daze followed after him and as she helped by drying the clean bowls she dejectedly whispered, "well, I would have liked to have been able to cook breakfast with you."

If Kenshin didn't have as sharp of hearing as he did, he would have missed her comment, but he heard it and sighed.  "I'm sorry Kaoru.  I didn't know you wanted to cook with me." He said.

Karou put the last bowl away and looked at Kenshin.  She clutched the wet towel she had been drying with to her chest as she said, "Kenshin.  My Father just left to go to war, maybe never to come back.  You are the only person I have left.  I want to be with you every second of everyday, regardless of what it is that you are doing."

Kenshin smiled at her and said, "Ok."  Then he turned and began walking towards the dojo for their morning practice.

Kaoru narrowed her eyes.  'That was too easy.' She noted.  "That means you have to sleep with me every night too!" she yelled at his retreating back.

Kenshin stopped dead in his tracks.

"Did you hear me?" she called when he didn't turn around.  "I said-" she began to repeat herself, only to find Kenshin in front of her with one hand over her mouth and the other holding her against him around her waist, as if holding her close would help to silence her.

"I heard you." He hissed under his breath, his eyes narrowing to amber slits.  "Do you have to announce it to the whole neighborhood?  They are going to think I'm doing things I shouldn't be doing with you." He whispered loudly as he pulled her even closer to him.

Kaoru shivered at the intimate way he was holding her, silently demanding her obedience.  She knew he was mad, but she couldn't think of anything except how sexy he was when he was angry, especially since he was talking about 'things he shouldn't be doing with her'. Kaoru shivered again at her wicked thoughts.  'Even his eyes change color.' She noticed.  Kenshin had never lost his cool in front of her.  This was a completely new experience for her, and she couldn't believe how much she was enjoying it.

Then just as suddenly as Kenshin had pulled her to him, he released her and stepped out into the courtyard.  "Good morning Doctor Genzai!  Ayame! Suzume!" Kaoru heard Kenshin greeting their friends.

Kaoru dazedly followed Kenshin outside to greet the good Doctor and his granddaughters.  Out of pure habit, Kaoru walked to Dr. Genzai and took Suzume from his arms.  She was the younger of his granddaughters that he took care of and couldn't walk far distances yet, so they carried her just about everywhere.  "Why hello everybody!" Kaoru chirped to Suzume, trying to cover the fact that she was still stunned from Kenshin's actions a moment before.  She noticed Kenshin and Dr. Genzai talking quietly to each other and began to walk over to them, only to be stopped by Ayame.

"Kaoru-nee!" Ayame exclaimed as she tugged on Kaoru's sleeve to get Kaoru's attention.

Kaoru glanced down at the younger girl who she considered to be like a sister and answered, "Yes Ayame-chan?"

"We get to go fishing today! Wanna come?  Wanna come?" she said while clapping her hands together in excitement.

Kaoru opened her mouth to reply, but Kenshin beat her to it.  "We would love to come Ayame-chan, but first Kaoru and I have to practice our kendo and teach our classes." He said as he crouched down to meet Ayame at eye-level.

"Ok." Ayame replied with a large smile.  "See you later then!" she added as Dr. Genzai took Suzume back and the three headed out towards the river. 

"Bye!" Kaoru yelled at their retreating backs.  'Everything seems to be moving so fast today.' She thought to herself with a frown.

"That was nice of him to come by and check on us." Kenshin said to Kaoru as he took her hand and began to lead her over to the dojo.

"Huh?" Kaoru asked feeling even more confused than before.

"Dr. Genzai." Kenshin replied.  "He came by to see how we were doing without Dad around." He explained.

"Oh, right."  Kaoru murmured while still distracted by her thoughts, as she pulled her hand away from Kenshin's to retrieve her bokken and begin their lesson.

"Once we have completed your training in Kamiya Kasshin Ryu…I am going to teach you my style."  Kenshin announced as he also grabbed a wooden sword.

Surprised, Kaoru exclaimed, "I thought you already taught me your style!" 

Kenshin smirked.  "No.  I taught you a few basic ideas behind my style that have helped you with your speed, and your awareness of your opponent.  You have barely scratched the surface of learning my style.  I want to teach it to you though.  I think you would be very good at it." He said.

"Well, why can't we start now?" Kaoru asked her interest perked.

"I want to wait until you are a bit older." Kenshin explained.

"A bit older?" Kaoru questioned in disbelief.  "I'm almost 17 years old Kenshin! I'm old enough to be married you know, and that certainly makes me old enough to learn a new style!" she argued indignantly.

Kenshin heart stopped for a moment at Kaoru's outburst.  'Did she really need to bring up the marriage thing again?' he thought. "Ok, Kaoru, you are right." He said.  "You are old enough to be married now, so now is not the time for you to be learning a new kendo style, I should have taught you when you were younger.  I'm sure you would rather be out finding a husband." He finished, his tone sad.

"What?!" Kaoru exclaimed, even more upset than before.  'Ok.  THAT backfired.' She thought.  "I don't want to go out and find a husband!  I want you to teach me kendo!" She clarified.

Kenshin didn't say anything; he just stood there looking at her in the most curious way, almost as if he was seeing her for the first time.

Kaoru looked down at the old dojo floor and held back her tears.  "What…do you want me to go out and find a husband?" she whispered, her heart breaking.

'No, but I don't want you to feel forced to be with me.  I need you to want to be with me, like how I want to be with you...forever.' He thought. Instead he replied just as softly, "I…can't tell you what to do with your life, Kaoru.  It's your life and it's a decision that you need to make." 

'But I never thought I would need to look for a husband because I always had you.'  Kaoru said to herself.  'He…he didn't say yes though.' She consoled herself as she looked up at his blank expression. 'I'm not going to give up on you just yet, Himura Kenshin!' she resolved before saying, "But Kenshin, I am supposed to become the best swordswoman in Japan!"

Kenshin's eyes widened at her words, remembering the day he had told her that, and what she had said about it.  'What is she trying to say?' he wondered, his heart soaring with hope.

Kaoru took a few steps closer.  "Do you remember the day you told me that Kenshin?" she softly asked.  'Please understand what I am trying to say…' her heart pleaded.

'Do you have any idea what you do to me Kaoru?' Kenshin asked himself as he took the last two steps toward her, closing their distance and reaching behind her head with one hand, he tugged her hair ribbon free.  As Kaoru's hair cascaded down her back Kenshin replied in a low husky voice, "I remember everything about that day."

Kaoru smiled. 'He…we…he understands.' She thought her heart comforted.  'It's been so long…where does that leave us…now that I'm old enough…' her thoughts trailed off as Kenshin gently ran his fingers through her hair.  _'You are so beautiful, my Kaoru' Kenshin's words from that day as he had run his fingers through her hair ran through her head.  He didn't say it today, but she knew he was saying it by his actions._

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**A/N: Ok, so that's the end of Chapter 28.  Did you like all the K&K WAFF?  (Bunny loves K&K WAFF!)  I hope everybody liked it ;)  I have been doing some major brainstorming for this fic recently and I have all kinds of fun things in store for us to read about.  I hope everybody will like it ;)  In any case, let me know if you are still enjoying the fic by leaving me a review.**

Thanks!

Bunny ;D

p.s. the next party won't be till 750 reviews because they are becoming too frequent.  If you DO want to be in the next party (if there is one) please let me know and what you want to do! ;D

p.s.s. I was thinking that I would really like to give all my chapters names.  You know…so that as a reader when you come back to my fic after it's been a while…you can remember where you left off by the chapter title.  (I have found that I really like it when authors do that.)  The problem is, I'm really horrible at coming up with titles.  I AM!! I'm awful at it.  So I was hoping that maybe some of you would be willing to give me some ideas?  If you have any, please send me an email: bunny@princessserenity.net or you can leave it in the review, either way; I would really appreciate the help!

Till Next Time! (Which should be SOONER rather than LATER!)


	33. Sake Confusion

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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**A/N:** This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"But Kenshin, I am supposed to become the best swordswoman in Japan!"

Kenshin's eyes widened at her words, remembering the day he had told her that, and what she had said about it.  'What is she trying to say?' he wondered, his heart soaring with hope.

Kaoru took a few steps closer.  "Do you remember the day you told me that Kenshin?" she softly asked.  'Please understand what I am trying to say…' her heart pleaded.

'Do you have any idea what you do to me Kaoru?' Kenshin asked himself as he took the last two steps toward her, closing their distance and reaching behind her head with one hand, he tugged her hair ribbon free.  As Kaoru's hair cascaded down her back Kenshin replied in a low husky voice, "I remember everything about that day."

Kaoru smiled. 'He…we…he understands.' She thought her heart comforted.  'It's been so long…where does that leave us…now that I'm old enough…' her thoughts trailed off as Kenshin gently ran his fingers through her hair.  _'You are so beautiful, my Kaoru' Kenshin's words from that day as he had run his fingers through her hair ran through her head.  He didn't say it today, but she knew he was saying it by his actions._

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Chapter Twenty-Nine

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That evening found Kenshin sharing dinner of fresh fish with Kaoru, Dr. Genzai, Ayame and Suzume.  After the incident that morning with Kaoru, the two of them had gone about the rest of the day as if nothing had happened.  They had given their daily lessons to their students, and then headed down to the riverbank to fish with Dr. Genzai and his granddaughters, and not one word about what had happened had been exchanged.  Kaoru had barely even looked at him since he had allowed himself to run his fingers through her hair first thing in the morning.  Kenshin looked across the table at Kaoru wondering what she was thinking, and why she was acting as if nothing had happened.  'Is she not ready yet? Is that why she has barely said two words to me all day?' he wondered as he watched her hold Suzume on her lap, helping her eat her fish, taking in her natural motherly instincts.  'She'll make a great mother…' he thought absently.  'I can't wait till we have kids…I wouldn't mind getting started now-wait a minute!! What am I thinking?'  Kenshin slapped himself on the face and then reached across the table for the sake jug and poured himself an overflowing cup.  'Hentai!' he hissed to himself as the liquid flowed into his stomach.  He took another glance at Kaoru and then poured himself another cup and immediately drank it down just as quickly as the first.  He set down the cup and took a deep breath trying to calm down, and then glanced back up at Kaoru and Suzume.  'I'm starting to wonder if I like to punish myself.' He thought as he once again started to pour himself a cup of sake, only to be quickly drunk down.

Kaoru watched in awe as Kenshin poured himself one, after another, after another, after another cups of sake wondering what had set him off.  'I've never seen Kenshin drink so much sake,' she thought to herself.  'I hope he doesn't regret what happened in the dojo earlier…' she worried.  "Kenshin?  Are you all right?" she questioned.

Kenshin paused mid-gulp and looked at Kaoru.  He finished the cup before replying, "Yes, yes, I'm fine, why don't you have a cup too Kaoru?" He refilled the cup he had been drinking from and handed it across the table to the source of his distress.

"Thank you." Kaoru replied before quickly sipping down the cool wine and handing it back across the table.

"Here, you should have another," Kenshin said as he refilled the cup and passed it back across the table to Kaoru.

"Kenshin, you wouldn't be trying to get Kaoru-chan drunk so you can seduce her now that Koshijiro is gone now would you?" Dr. Genzai asked, observing the young couple.

Kaoru flushed a bright red as Kenshin exclaimed, "ORO!" and fell over backwards, hitting the floor.

Dr. Genzai chuckled and then patted Kenshin's head, "now, now, I was just teasing you.  I know you would never do anything to dishonor our little Kaoru-chan." He said in re-assurance.

Kenshin just hit his head once again in misery.  'If you only knew.' He thought as he dragged his hand over his face.

"Mou!" Kaoru exclaimed in embarrassment.  "I won't drink any more then, Dr. Genzai." She said before returning to help Suzume eat her dinner.

Kenshin sat back up after a moment, and resumed his sake drinking, this time, even more frantically.

Not too much later, Dr. Genzai helped Kaoru carry a completely comatose Kenshin into his room and lay him on his futon.  After getting Kenshin settled in, Dr. Genzai handed Kaoru a small packet with white powder, "give this to him in the morning and he will be fine." He explained to the young mistress of the house.

"Right!" Kaoru said.

"I best be going now, have a good night, and thanks for a lovely day!" Dr. Genzai said before taking the now two sleeping girls into his arms and heading home.

Kaoru watched Dr. Genzai and the girls walk down the road until she could see them no more, then she ran quickly to her room, changed into her nightclothes, headed to Kenshin's bedroom and quietly snuggled under the covers with the older-unsuspecting man.

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_"Kaoru…sweetheart, Katsura-sama has regrouped the Inshinshishi and it's time for their assassin to return to his work." I quietly announced to my wife.__When I looked up she had started crying, silently. "Do…do we have to go?" she stuttered out._

_I felt my eyes thin into slits, as anger swept up into my body. "What do you mean by 'we,' Kaoru?" I demanded._

_"I mean do **WE** have to go…what do you think I meant?" she replied heatedly._

_"NO! You aren't coming with me – its way to dangerous, I won't allow anything to happen to you!" I said, raising my voice._

_"What are you talking about?!?" she exclaimed in hysterics. "You most definitely are NOT going without me!! There is no way that I'm staying here Himura Kenshin, while you're off splitting people in half and chopping off their heads do you understand me!!" she yelled._

_I growled in frustration. "You are so frustrating sometimes!!" I yelled to her throwing my arms up in the air.  "I need to protect you!" I added, hoping she would understand.  Suddenly, her body began to glow a bright white color.  "No!! Don't leave me!" I screamed out to her, as she began to fade.  I ran across the room to where she was standing in the doorway. "Kaoru!! I promise, you can come with me, just stay please!!" I yelled reaching out to her, contacting with nothing._

_Kaoru smiled at me, as she faded into the light. "I love you!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining all her love, her arms still outstretched towards me._

_"NO! Kaoru, don't leave me!!" I yelled out in desperation. _

"Kaoru," Kenshin moaned out in a whisper, half dreaming, half awake. He drifted in and out of consciousness, his head still swimming from his earlier alcohol consumption.  "No Kaoru, don't go." He moaned out again, this time, more desperately.

"Shhhh…" Kaoru whispered in his ear as she rolled over, put her arm around him, and began to gently rub up and down his side.  "It's ok." She whispered in reassurance.

"Kaoru!! You're here…It was just a dream!" Kenshin exclaimed in a slur as he fumbled in the dark and rolled over to wrap her body up against his in a tight embrace.  After a moment, he moved his arms up her body, grasping her head in his hands, he guiding her towards him in the dark, his lips assaulting hers in a passionate, needy kiss.  "I was so worried that you had left me.  It was horrible." He murmured in his drunken state between kisses.

"Wha-" Kaoru began to say before Kenshin once again placed his tongue inside her mouth, pulling her closer to him, as if she was his life's breath.  Still confused at what had brought about Kenshin's odd behavior, Kaoru relented and kissed him back fervently.  It wasn't everyday that the man of your dreams kissed you the way his was kissing her. 

Kenshin pulled Kaoru closer as he gently moved his hand under her yukata…. he stopped suddenly as he felt the soft cloth that she used to bind her breasts.  His eyes flew open and he pulled away from the young girl in his arms as if she was on fire, it was too dark to tell for certain, but the memories rushing back into his head reminding him of the place and time he was living in.  'This is not my wife Kaoru this is chibi-Kaoru!! My Kaoru, the one I have been waiting for!' he thought frantically, realizing his mistake.  'Oh my God, what have I done?  I should have known sooner, that damn sake and that dream had me so confused!  There is no denying it though, Kaoru never bound her breasts for bed…this is bad.' He concluded, becoming even more panicked.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru's voice questioned to the pitch-black room.  She could still feel his breath on her face, she knew he was close, but why the sudden display of passion and then the quick withdrawal?  She felt her heart clench in her chest, afraid that he would reject her, despite that he had started it, he was drunk, he had a bad dream, he was not in his right mind.  She bit her lip, waiting patiently for his response, her only indication that he was still there, his ragged breath hitting her face.

"Kaoru…" Kenshin finally began, his voice sounding scared and broken.  Unsure of what else to do, he let out a big sigh and simply said, "I'm sorry…let's go back to sleep."  He gently took the young girl back into his arms and rested his head against the top of her head, and with a large sigh, hoped that she would forget by the time morning came, before drifting back to sleep.

'Ken…shin…what was that all about?' Kaoru wondered as against her own will, her eyes drifted shut and she also fell back asleep.

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A/N: Well, that's it for Chapter 29.  I know, it was a bit odd…but there is a reason to my madness!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA.  (I'll be sure to tell you what it is as soon as I figure it out myself. ^_^;;)  No really, I actually know where I'm going with this.  Did you like it?  Please let me know by leaving a review…

Now, to answer a couple of questions posed by you readers:

Are we going to find out more about the future Kaoru that married Battousai in the past and how she is doing with her Kenshin that got married in the future?  Yes…a little bit.  But I'm not going to tell you how or when…it's a surprise, but it's going to be really cool! Are we going to follow the normal RK timeline to some point as in…we will meet Yahiko, Sano, Megumi, etc. etc.  Yes.  Soon enough, it's going to be good too! ;) 

Other than that…thank you to all of you who have been reviewing!  It keeps me going you know? ;D

**kenni (mauohc@hotmail.com)** - Ok, I will def. Invite the rest of the RK guys to the next party ;)  

**Cherry Blossom** - that would be really cool of you to help me with the chapter titles…just email me at bunny@princessserenity.net

**hotaru (saiyanprincessj@hotmail.com) **- You're so sweet! Thanks for saying that ;)

**Saby-chan – **Thank you!  I like the way they interact too.  It's fun ne?  ^_^

**Saiera – **I agree…I think Kenshin is super cute when he's worried! ;D

**DiaBLo **– You will get your answer soon…

**Gypsy-chan – **Thank You!! I definitely will…got any wicked cool ideas about what we should do for the next party?

**Vesca ** - I would love to hear your suggestions!  I really need them ^_^;;  I suck at coming up with good titles.  O_o;;

**Azura Dea – **Please see answer number 1.

**Jason M. Lee – **Thank you for always helping out with my "senior moment" mistakes.  Sometimes, I don't know where my brain goes…

**macy -** Aww!! I liked the "sugar" too.  Sugar is very good ne?  I love it bunches ;D  There is more to come…that there is ;)

**Hana Himura **– ::eheheheheh:: So you're trying to quite the chocolate eh?  LOL. ;D  I was so worried when you had eaten so much at my last party you know?  I'm just happy that you perked up pretty quickly…and you know, it was a good thing that Jason found you.  I will be sure to tell everybody that they can bring anything but chocolate to the next party.  Or maybe I will just have to have Battousai guard it from you…hmmmm….

**lizzie (lizziea51@yahoo.com) - **Thank you…you're so sweet!!  It was cool that you commented on Kenshin remembering Kaoru's memory, I was so excited when I came up with the idea to write that, so thanks for appreciating it so much!

**Anna (CraziBratz15@aol.com) - **That was so nice what you said.  I know it was after chapter 27, but all the same, that was so sweet of you to think so highly of my fic ;)

**Special Thanks Also goes to:** Gina, bek, JouChan13, oneechan19, Fey2Kim, crystal of psyche, LSR-7, Kyaa-Kyaff, Yen, almira (who's been around since the beginning of this fic), manina, Zackire, Crystal, JadeGoddess, and Battousai angel who all reviewed the last chapter.  Thanks for all your support ;)  ::big hug:: 

Till the Next Chapter!

Bunny ;D


	34. Innocent Seduction

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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A/N: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"Kenshin?" Kaoru's voice questioned to the pitch-black room.  She could still feel his breath on her face, she knew he was close, but why the sudden display of passion and then the quick withdrawal?  She felt her heart clench in her chest, afraid that he would reject her, despite that he had started it, he was drunk, he had a bad dream, he was not in his right mind.  She bit her lip, waiting patiently for his response, her only indication that he was still there, his ragged breath hitting her face.

"Kaoru…" Kenshin finally began, his voice sounding scared and broken.  Unsure of what else to do, he let out a big sigh and simply said, "I'm sorry…let's go back to sleep."  He gently took the young girl back into his arms and rested his head against the top of her head, and with a large sigh, hoped that she would forget by the time morning came, before drifting back to sleep.

'Ken…shin…what was that all about?' Kaoru wondered as against her own will, her eyes drifted shut and she also fell back asleep.

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Chapter Thirty

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Kenshin flipped over under the covers early the next morning and let out a muffled grunt over the intense pain in his head.  Slowly cracking open one eye, he squinted at the blaring light coming through the thin paper screen doors of his room.  'Ouch.' He thought before slowly closing his eye again.  'Kaoru won't mind if I sleep in a bit since I'm not feeling well…' he consoled himself as he began to drop back into a deep sleep.  A second without thoughts ensued before Kenshin sat up in bed with a jolt, grabbing his aching head from the head rush, and then glancing quickly to his left to see the still slumbering Kaoru.  'OH…NO. Ohno, ohno, ohno, ohno.  I'm a dead man.' He thought gazing down at his sleeping companion.  'Maybe…maybe if I let her wake up first, she will just leave and forget the whole incident last night.' He hoped.  'Ok, Himura, who are you trying to kid here?  You were completely inebriated last night, and you remember the whole thing, what makes you think she won't??!?!' his mind screamed, as he began to panic.  'What do I do?  What do I do?  Listen to me; I sound like my fool future self!!  I'm Battousai for crying out loud, how can I be so frightened of a woman?!?!  Ok…so…Kaoru has always been a bit scary when angered…ACK!!' His thoughts came to a sudden halt as Kaoru's eyelids began to flutter open.  Using his god-like speed, Kenshin fell back onto the bed and faked sleep.

Kaoru slowly opened her eyes early the next morning, as the sun filtering through the paper screen door hit the side of her face. She let out a content sigh as her eyes scanned the ceiling of the room.  'Oh…I'm in Kenshin's room.' She realized, taking in her surroundings.  Turning her head slightly to the right, Kaoru noticed that Kenshin was still asleep. She frowned.  'What happened last night?' she wondered as she rolled onto her side to study his peaceful face. 'He was calling for me in his sleep, and then before I know it, he's kissing me, only to suddenly push me away, and fall back asleep.  What does that mean?  Does he even remember?  I doubt it.  I've never seen him drink so much sake.' Her thoughts a jumbled mess, she breathed out in a soft whisper to herself, "Oh Kenshin.  I wish I knew where I stood with you." She let out a soft sigh of defeat. 'I wonder if I could…' she thought, as a faint blush spread across her cheeks.  'Well, he's in a drunken sleep, this will probably be my only chance to ever…' Holding her breath, Kaoru leaned forward until she was less than an inch from Kenshin's sleeping face.  She let out a nervous breath before quickly closing the distance between their faces to graze her lips softly against his lips.  Pulling away she whispered quietly, "I love you."  Relief at being caught flooded through her nerves, as she noticed no changes in Kenshin's face. With a dreamy smile, she got up and left the room, barely making a sound.

As Kenshin heard the quiet sliding of his door being closed, his eyes flew open.  'She kissed me!  She loves me!' he remembered in excitement.  "Why couldn't you have said it while you thought I was awake Kaoru?" he whispered in desperation.  "Such a long time, I have waited for you…" he trailed of while talking to himself as he got up and changed his clothes, deciding he should get up to have breakfast with Kaoru.

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"Good morning, Kaoru." Kenshin greeted as he walked into the kitchen and began assisting Kaoru in making some rice balls, and miso for breakfast.

Kaoru looked at Kenshin from the side of her eyes.  "Did you just wake up?" she questioned.

"Yep, just got up.  I have a horrible headache though.  Do you know what happened to me?" he asked nonchalantly.

Kaoru dropped the rice ball she was currently forming onto the cutting board and turned to her left to face Kenshin.  "You mean, you don't remember?" she asked.

Kenshin faced Kaoru and blinked.  "What?  Did I do something bad?" he questioned.

Kaoru's gaze thinned in suspicion for a split second before she widened her eyes and turned back to making rice balls saying, "Oh no, nothing at all.  I'm just surprised you don't remember. That's all." She said with faked cheerfulness.  

Kenshin sighed.  'Does she know I'm pretending I don't remember and trying to tell me it's ok that I kissed her like that, or is she just faking it that nothing happened because she thinks I was too drunk to remember?' he wondered as he sighed again.

'Why is Kenshin sighing like that?' Kaoru wondered.  'He probably has a pounding headache, stupid!' she answered herself a second later. "Oh, Kenshin.  Your head must be pounding.  Dr. Genzai left some medicine for you to take, let me go get it for you." She said as she gently put the rice ball she finished making on a plate and turned to leave the room.

"Wait." Kenshin said, as he turned to face Kaoru's retreating back.

Kaoru paused mid-step and turned back to see Kenshin, confusion etched clearly on her face.  

"Kaoru…I…" Kenshin took a step forward, slowly closing the distance between them.  "I…" he began again.  'I don't know what to say!' he thought frantically.

"You what?" Kaoru asked, her impatience getting the better of her.

"Nothing." Kenshin whispered dejectedly before turning around to resume making breakfast.  "It's nothing." He repeated, almost as if trying to convince himself.  

"Ok.  I'll be right back." Kaoru said before exiting the room.

Kenshin chopped up a few pieces of tofu while he fumed to himself about his current situation.  'What do I say?  You know Kaoru, I was really only pretending to be sleeping this morning…and then she would hit me before I could even finish.  I can't tell her I remember waking up and kissing her, because I already asked her what happened, and she would know I was faking like I didn't remember, and then she would hit me.' Kenshin let out another deep sigh.  'No matter how I try to tell her, she's going to get mad at me and hit me.' His brows furrowed in deep concentration, 'How am I going to do this?' he wondered.

Kaoru, interrupting Kenshin's thoughts said, "here we go," to Kenshin as she poured a bit of white powder into a teacup and then poured some hot tea she had been brewing over it.  She mixed the substance with a chopstick and then brought the cup up to her lips and blew over the top to cool the hot liquid.

Kenshin stifled a groan at her innocent seduction and obediently drank the liquid from the cup Kaoru held up to his lips.  As he finished, she placed the cup down on the counter and smiled at him.  "Thank you…my Kaoru." Kenshin said softly.

Kaoru blushed as her smile widened in delight at his soft endearment.  'Perhaps…we will still get somewhere, remember the incident last night or not.' She hoped.  Locking her eyes with Kenshin's warm violet orbs, she took a step towards him, closing the distance between their bodies.

Without breaking eye contact with Kaoru, Kenshin raised his hand and cupped the side of her chin between his fingers to tilt her head up the small distance for their faces to meet. Slowly leaning down to close the distance between their lips, he let out a small breath of air that caressed Kaoru's lips, teasing her senses.

Kaoru closed her eyes and unconsciously licked her lips in anticipation, wanting nothing more than to taste Kenshin's lips while they were both awake, and conscious of what was happening.

"KAMIYA-sensei!!"

The abrupt shout coming from the courtyard had the two lovers jumping apart and blushing in embarrassment.  "Ano…it seems our students are arriving." Kaoru said in a rush before quickly making her way out of the room and into the courtyard to greet the students.

"Kamiya-sensei!" Yuki, one of her students exclaimed again as she came running out of the house.

"Oh Yuki! Good morning.  It is really already time for classes to begin?  Kenshin and I were still making breakfast." Kaoru said.

Much to his own embarrassment, Yuki blushed.  "Ano…actually I came early today to wish you a happy birthday," he answered.

Kaoru, not noticing his blush smiled warmly.  "Aww, how sweet of you to remember.  Thank you.  Well, since you are here, you might as well come and have breakfast with us." Kaoru said as she took Yuki's hand in hers and led him up into the house.

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Meanwhile, inside the kitchen, Kenshin was fuming.  'Another opportunity missed!!!  All because of that dumb Yuki!  I can't believe that stupid kid is here again.  Hasn't he heard that Kaoru is mine?  Everybody else in this whole community gets it, or at least if they don't, they don't push their luck and try to get her interest because they have enough sense to fear my wrath.'  Kenshin savagely chopped a green onion, taking out his anger and frustration at the whole situation on the poor vegetable.

"Kenshin, Yuki's going to have breakfast with us." Kaoru said as she entered the kitchen, her hand towing Yuki in behind her.

Kenshin turned around, his eyes slightly tinted with amber; he glanced at Kaoru's glowing face before his gaze shifted to their joined hands.  His eyes narrowed in annoyed jealousy.

Kaoru, noticing Kenshin's gaze immediately dropped Yuki's hand.  'Oh no.  I hope he doesn't think I like Yuki like that!!  I mean, Yuki's great and my age and everything, but there's only ever been one man for me, and that's Kenshin.' Kaoru worried.

Yuki frowned when Kaoru dropped his hand like it was on fire, and then smiled at Kenshin.  "I wanted to come early to wish Kaoru a happy 17th birthday." He said to the older redhead.

"I see." Kenshin said before turning around and resuming his work on the miso soup.

"Go ahead and wait for us in the other room Yuki, we'll be finished in just a minute." Kaoru requested.

"Ok." Yuki said and then proceeded into the adjacent dining room.

Once Yuki left the room, Kaoru frowned, not only at her stupidity, but also at Kenshin's obvious displeasure.  Never before had he acted so jealous over Yuki's constant attention of her…at least, not in front of her.  'Does he really care that much?' Kaoru wondered.  'Well, I suppose that it would be very rude of Yuki to try to win my attentions if Kenshin and I are engaged.  Are we really engaged though?  I don't even know.'  Kaoru let out a sigh of frustration before she took a few steps over to Kenshin and placed her forehead between his shoulder blades, and a hand on his shoulder.  "What's wrong Kenshin?  You seem upset."  She inquired.

Kenshin stopped his movement and despite himself, smiled over Kaoru's gesture.  Many times they had comforted each other in the same position.  Showing affection, but keeping things distant so neither the other person, nor any onlookers would get the wrong idea.  "It's nothing." He said, dismissing the topic, and waiting for Kaoru to withdraw so he could safely finish making breakfast.

Instead, Kaoru surprised them both by saying, "I don't believe you."

Kenshin visibly stiffened for a second before placing the knife down on the cutting board, and turning to face Kaoru.

Feeling Kenshin turn, Kaoru pulled away just enough for him to face her and then looked up into his smoldering eyes.  They were changing from violet, to amber and back again.

"Your eyes…" Kaoru began, "they're changing colors." She said in awe.

"They do that sometimes." Kenshin replied, as he raised his arms up and placed them on Kaoru's shoulders, silently comforting her as she grasped the front of his gi in her hands.

"Only in my dreams." Kaoru confided, her eyes traveling back and forth between his two eyes, almost in disbelief.

"You still have those dreams?" Kenshin asked her, a bit surprised.

"All the time." Kaoru whispered, still in a trance over Kenshin's unusual eyes.

"I see." Kenshin said more to himself than to Kaoru.

"Why are they amber?" Kaoru questioned.

Kenshin smirked at Kaoru before replying, "They change colors when I'm angry," he paused as Kaoru looked back up at him with curious eyes. "Or, annoyed, enraged…" he paused again and moved his arms to Kaoru's waist pulling her closer to his warmth, "protective, jealous," he continued in a whisper. Kaoru's eyes widened, he brought his head closer to hers, and breathed, "impassioned" over her lips before closing the short distance and placing his lips on hers.

Kaoru moaned from the desire she had suppressed for this man for years, her heart skyrocketing, and her mind swimming as she kissed him back with fervor.  Kenshin answered her with a moan of his own before tilting her entire body back and deepening their kiss.  Kaoru moved her arms from the front of his gi, to the back of his head, holding on lest she fall over, and pulling his head closer, in a silent demand for more.

"Kamiya-sensei, Himura-sensei, do you need any hel-" Yuki's words died abruptly in his throat as he came back into the kitchen to see his two teachers engaged in a steamy kiss.  He frowned before turning around and walking back into the dining room, 'I guess they really are engaged.' He thought as he sat back down, disappointed over the loss of hope that the beautiful kendo instructor could ever be his.

Hearing their student's question, the two teachers breathlessly parted just after Yuki left the room. Looking down, Kaoru blushed scarlet and stepped away from Kenshin and grabbing the rice balls off of the counter, barely breathed out, "Well, I guess we better eat breakfast, the rest of our students will be here any minute."

Kenshin smiled knowingly at her as she left the room, refusing to look at him in her embarrassment.  He quickly boiled the miso and then only a couple of minutes after Kaoru left, joined her and Yuki at the table, to enjoy his first breakfast with his Kaoru, who now knew of his affection for her, if nothing else.  'Soon, I will tell you everything Kaoru.  Then we will be together…forever.' Kenshin thought to himself as he watched a still slightly red-faced Kaoru sip her miso soup.

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30 chapters.  Wow.  I never thought I would write this much.  O_o;;  There is still so much more too.  Not too much more, but enough. No worries, it will remain very interesting.  (I have at least the gist of where I'm going all planned out.  You would be amazed at how much thought I have to put into each chapter before I write it.)  I already made a promise to myself that I would never write one of those becoming ever so popular stories where the couple gets together and then one problem after another has them breaking up and getting back together over and over again. (IMHO, those get really old, really fast.)  So only good things to come, you're going to love it.  Promise.  There are still many unsettled issues that need to be settled, and they will be. :D

I want to thank all my reviewers.  I know I've taken a really long time to update, and I'm very sorry.  I was suffering from writers block, and I also had so many things going on in my life that I was unable to sit down and get past my writer's block.

**Jason M. Lee**:  Thanks for always being here and for your support and help on my story.  I love all your comments :D

**Crystal**:  I know…sorry for making you wait so long for another update.  I hope it was worth the wait!

**LSR-7**:  This chapter was a bit longer ne?  I try to please!

**Koneko-dono**:  :hugs:  thank you!!  I'm excited about writing that chapter.  I can't wait!! ::sighs:: it will be a few chapters away, it's just getting through the events that need to lead up to it.  

**genocide ex-sync*in: **Yeah, you got it.  Kenshin was still in that state between being asleep, and being awake.  His dream and the sake had his brain so muddled up that he didn't realize that he was no longer in the past, but in the present.  Sorry if I didn't explain it very well.   O_O;;

**Saiera: **I'm very happy you liked the WAFF. :D

** lizzie (lizziea51@yahoo.com): **::hugs:: you're so sweet.  That must have been one of my best reviews yet!!

**Azura Dea: **Sorry for taking so long.  Thanks for all your support!

**Battousai angel:**  It was super cool ne?  I was so excited when I came up with the idea!

**Marstanuki:**  I did.  I didn't email you back?  O_O;;  Gomen if I didn't.  I love them.  That was super wicked cool of you to send to me.  I thought the matches were pretty good too.

**Hana Himura:**  I'm thinking Battousai will need some intense training before the next party, I do. 

**Mikky:**  Nope, I don't write lemons. Sorry if that disappoints you.

**Chibi-angel**:  Did you notice I used Yuki's name?  Didn't use his character at all (obviously) but I used his name.  ;D  Next party, I definitely include the FB guys, I met them just the other day you know.  Kyo and Yuki got in a big fight at my house and Trunks and Kenshin put their differences aside to stop them from destroying my home.  It was all really weird, I will have to tell you more about it sometime. :D

**Macy:  **Sake is usually served cold or hot.  It really depends on the person's preference.  I like it hot, but you know, back in the 1800's of Japan, they didn't have microwaves to warm it up in quickly either.  LOL

**ArtemisMoon:**  I'm so happy that you noticed me.  (Feels honored.)  One of the best Inuyasha fix I've ever read too.  So when are you going to write another one?  We need some more good ones you know?  Have you been reading what's been on the Inuyasha pages lately?  Note: I'm a fan of so many anime series; don't be surprised if I pop up all over the place. ::falls over laughing at myself::

**panda-tiney:  **I'm VERY happy to hear that reading my fic got you into the series.  What a nice compliment.  Believe me when I tell you, it's one of the best, and you won't regret it!

**Chibi Battousai:  **No worries, I like long reviews.  Thank you for your honest and nicely put feedback, I enjoyed it very much and I will keep your thoughts in mind.

Everybody else on ff.net, TFME, my humble RK site, and MediaMiner.org, thank you very much for your support and reviews.  I wish I could go through and answer everybody individually, but my time is running out and I have to leave, and I really want to be able to post this chapter up today.  GOMEN!

Till the next chappy!

Bunny ;D


	35. Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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A/N: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Hearing their student's question, the two teachers breathlessly parted just after Yuki left the room. Looking down, Kaoru blushed scarlet and stepped away from Kenshin and grabbing the rice balls off of the counter, barely breathed out, "Well, I guess we better eat breakfast, the rest of our students will be here any minute."

Kenshin smiled knowingly at her as she left the room, refusing to look at him in her embarrassment. He quickly heated the miso and then only a couple of minutes after Kaoru left, joined her and Yuki at the table, to enjoy his first breakfast with his Kaoru, who now knew of his affection for her, if nothing else. 'Soon, I will tell you everything Kaoru. Then we will be together…forever.' Kenshin thought to himself as he watched a still slightly red-faced Kaoru sip her miso soup.

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Chapter Thirty-One

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Later that afternoon, Kaoru and Kenshin found themselves alone in the dojo, ready to begin Kaoru's training for that day.  Kenshin grinned, observing that Kaoru had been very interested in looking everywhere but at him all day long.  Presently, she was finding great interest in the dirty dojo floor.  'I think it is time for Kaoru to begin her real training…' he thought with a slow smile of satisfaction.

"Kaoru." He called to get her attention.

Kaoru, for her part, had been on edge all day long.  Yes, it was nice that they had kissed in the kitchen that morning.  It was great that they had.  Ok, so it had made her whole life have meaning…the problem now was that she had NO IDEA how to act around Kenshin.  Did he feel the same way?  Did that one kiss mean the world to him or had he just wanted to kiss her?  And if his world turned upside too, where did they go from here?  AND WHY was she so embarrassed to look at him? 'Mou!' she mentally thought in complete frustration.  'All day long, I have been able to avoid him, but now…' Kaoru stopped her thoughts and stared at her feet, trying not to blush as she felt Kenshin smile at her.  He called her name, and reluctantly, she switched her gaze to look up into his warm violet orbs.

"Today, we will begin your training in my original style, Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu."  Kenshin announced.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu?" Kaoru repeated, trying the name of her new style out on her lips. 

Kenshin walked up to her, grabbed her elbow and lead her out of the dojo, while saying, "yes, yes, it's VERY fast…" he paused and then added, "and deadly," before walking ahead of her to exit the building.

Kaoru gasped.  "Deadly?" she questioned in shock.

Kenshin stopped walking and turned back to face Kaoru.  "I'm sorry, that was a bad choice of words.  It's very fast, and very…effective." He clarified.

Kaoru frowned.  'Kenshin sure is acting weird today.  I feel like I'm in my dreams when he is younger and I am older.'  She thought.  'That doesn't make any sense though!! They are just dreams, and it would be impossible for him to be younger and me older!' she concluded before reluctantly following him out of the dojo.  She placed her arm above her eyes to shield them from the bright sunlight as she caught up to Kenshin.  He smiled at her and took her hand.

"This way…not much longer till we reach the river." Kenshin said to her with a smile.

Kaoru faked a smile at Kenshin's grin and obediently followed, but worried at Kenshin's odd behavior. She restrained herself from saying anything about it…yet.  Walking for a few minutes hand-in-hand, much to Kaoru's pleasure, they finally reached the river.  At the edge of the water, Kenshin stopped and said, "Ok Kaoru, in you go."

"What?" Kaoru asked, startled out of her thoughts about Kenshin's odd behavior and how it corresponded to her dreams.

"Get in the water." Kenshin instructed.

Kaoru's eyes narrowed in suspicion.  "Why?  What does it have to do with my training?" she questioned.

"You'll see." Kenshin said as he pushed her in the water.

From Kenshin's shove, Kaoru stumbled a bit into the water, which made big splashes and got her pretty soaked.  She turned back towards Kenshin who was now also entering the water to give him a glare for shoving her.

Kenshin gave Kaoru his most innocent smile as he waded his way over to her wet form. Her heart began to pound frantically at his close proximity as he walked behind her, and placed his hands on her hips and angled them perfectly. Kaoru bit her lip at his soft touch on her hips and tried to focus on why he would be adjusting her hips, as opposed to the feelings they awakened inside her.  After adjusting her hips and legs, Kenshin walked around her, making adjustments to her posture, her arms, and her grip on her bokken.  Finally, he waded away from her a few feet and then turned to face her.

"Ok, now…we are ready to begin."  He said, his tone now much more serious.

Kaoru rolled her eyes.  "Kenshin, was all that stance adjustment really necessary?  You know, I've known how to do that since I could walk!" she exclaimed.

 "Yes.  When using Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, your technique must be perfect, even to the most basic level.  It makes all the difference in achieving the god-like speed needed to successfully practice it."  He answered.

Kaoru chewed on her lip for a moment in thought before saying, "But Kenshin, I've seen you fighting tons of times, and although you are very quick, I wouldn't exactly say you have "god-like" speed.  I don't see what the big deal is."

"That's because you have never seen me use Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu." Kenshin said mischievously before he disappeared.

Kaoru gasped at his sudden disappearance.  "Ken-" she began to call for Kenshin, but was cut off as a cold, wet hand covered her mouth.  Kaoru's heart stopped for a moment in fright before she screamed and bit down hard on the hand, drawing blood.  "Kenshin!" She yelled as the hand removed itself from her mouth.

"Ouch!" Kenshin said as he pulled his hand away from Kaoru's mouth.  As she yelled out for him, he grabbed her and turned her around to face him.  

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you so badly." He apologized as he pulled her against his chest and smoothed her wet hair. 

Kaoru let out a sob as she pounded her small fist against his chest with a great force.  "Oof" he let out as she said "Kenshin! Don't ever do that again, you scared me half to death!"

"I'm sorry Kaoru." He repeated.  "I didn't think it would scare you so badly since you are so good at sensing me.  I guess my god-speed startled you." He said with a chuckle.

Kaoru pounded his chest once more for his chuckle before saying, "Mou! You did more than startle me!  I thought something had happened to you!  I was really worried, and then you grabbed me, and my heart started pounding in my chest and-" Kaoru stopped mid-tirade as she noticed that Kenshin was cradling a bloody hand between their bodies.  "Oh no! What happened to your hand?" she asked as she grabbed his wrist and held his hand up to her face for closer inspection.  

"You were bit!" she declared after a minute of cleaning the wound.

"I know." Kenshin replied as he started laughing again.

"Mou! Why are you laughing it's not funny that you were bit!  What if it gets infected!" she exclaimed, her tone becoming a bit frantic.

"I don't think that will happen unless you have some horrible disease, my Kaoru." Kenshin answered his affection apparent in his tone, but still laughing.

"What?" Kaoru said, now completely confused and frustrated that Kenshin seemed to get some joke that only he was privy to.  Kenshin watched her emotions dance across her face as the meaning of his words began to come together in her mind and then quickly ducked as she swung at him while yelling, "don't you laugh at me you jerk!  You're the one that scared **me**!"

Kenshin laughed as he made his way upstream, while dodging Kaoru's attacks, which were thankfully for his sake, slowed down by the pull of the water. 

"I'm going to get you for that Kenshin!!  Don't think you're going to get away!" she threatened, still hot in pursuit of her instructor.

Just as Kaoru thought she just might catch up to him, Kenshin whirled around on her, grabbed both her wrists, pinned her arms behind her back and pulled her soaking wet body tight up against his own.  Kaoru was stunned into silence; their playful squabble quickly forgotten.

Kenshin moved his face next to hers and whispered into her ear, "Don't be mad, I just wanted to be close to you." 

Kaoru shivered in excitement at his comment.  'I wonder if he's going to kiss me again.' She thought as she subconsciously pressed her body closer to his.  

Kenshin suppressed a groan as Kaoru pressed closer to him, and gave into the urge to kiss her senseless.  'Brings back sweet memories,' he thought absentmindedly as he released Kaoru's wrists from behind her back in order to wrap his arms around her proper and pull her closer to him.  Lost in the moment, Kenshin breathed out to her between passionate kisses, "I love you so much, my sweet Kaoru." 

Kaoru gasped under his mouth at his confession before she threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug and said, "Really Kenshin? I love you too Kenshin…so very much!"  She squeezed him tightly and Kenshin wrapped his arms back around her slight form, and squeezed back.

"Of course.  I've always loved you.  Since the day I met you, I loved you." He confided as he held Kaoru in the middle of the river, droplets of water dripping down both of them, and neither caring.  

"Me too." Kaoru murmured as she pushed her face into Kenshin's neck and nuzzled.

Kenshin stiffened for a second as he picked up the sound of muted voices. He paused a second and stretched out his senses—he quickly located two forms heading down towards the river and pulled away from Kaoru slightly before saying, "someone is coming this way."

"Oh." Kaoru mumbled in a daze, as Kenshin let out a low growl of annoyance, picked her up and jumped to the riverbank.  Without more than a pause, he jumped them up onto a tree branch and sat them down out of sight from the intruders on their special time.

It was only a moment before both of them could make out what the voices were saying. 

"Did you hear about the manslayer in town saying he's from the Kamiya Dojo?" One of the voices, distinctly male, said.

"I hear he's claiming to be the Hitokiri Battousai."  Another voice said, also male.

"I didn't know the Hitokiri Battousai was from the Kamiya dojo." Commented the first voice.

"Yeah, me either.  My son used to study there, but we pulled him out as soon as we heard about the Hitokiri Battousai being one of their students.  My wife and I didn't want our son to become a cold-blooded killer."

Up in the tree, a Kenshin with blazing golden eyes, not hiding his anger restrained a seething Kaoru.

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A/N:  Ok, that's it for chapter 31.  This was a longer chapter right?  I think it was.  I hope so…I've been working on trying to make them longer.  I wanted to apologize to those of you who I told this would be posted last Friday…I thought I would be able to post it, but I forgot to email it to my computer so I could finish it up.  O_o;; (silly bunny)

In any case, there is a lot of action and drama coming up in the next few chapters that I hope you will all enjoy thoroughly!  

In other news…I have been given the privilege of hosting the **Official Kenshin and Kaoru Couple fanlisting** by TheFanListings Org.  Make sure you hit up the site and sign up to show your support of K&K!  The URL is in my profile here.

Also, the 2002 Rurouni Kenshin Readers Choice Awards are taking nominations.  Make sure all you loyal RK fanfiction readers participate, it's an awesome contest! (I nominated a few stories that really impressed me.)  

The next review party should be coming up in a few chapters if you want to put in comments or ideas on what you would like to see happen, leave a note in your review.

Special Thanks to everybody who reviewed the last chapter, please keep up the comments, it helps keep me motivated! ;)

**red faith** – thank you, I'm very happy that you are enjoying the story…I'm not quite a genius though.  falls over laughing  take care. 

**Jezika** – thank you.  It worked out well for you since I updated soon after you left your review. Most other people are probably about ready to ring my neck by now.  X_x ß- dead bunny

**Lizzie*g* (lizwiz@attbi.com)** – thank you, I tried…I'm happy that you are enjoying the fic.  

**AT-chan!!** – I'm so excited that you're a K&K fan now!! Whoo hooo!! Now I have someone on the forums to talk about Kenshin with.  ::eheheheheheheh::  I'm super excited that you like my story and that I inspired you to start writing fix again.  I hope to read an awesome K&K fic by you real soon.  (See now the pressure is on.)  LOL Catch ya on my forums.  ;)

**Silver Eyes Bright** – thank you!! I'm really happy and I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

**Minako-chan** – thank you.  Yes, I was really happy with the last chapter too.  So did you like the confession or was it lame?  O_o;;  Will they get married?  Maybe.  Will the rest of the gang join in the action? Probably.  When will it all end?  Your guess is as good as mine.  ^_^;;  (I think I know how I want to end it, but I don't know when.  Special Spoiler – I'm probably going to 2 an alternate ending and a real ending.  I was toying with a few ideas about it this week, but we'll see.)  I hope you liked this chapter too!!

**ying_fa** – no worries, I always have happy endings. ;)

**Silver Goddess** – here's some more, I hope you liked it ;D

**crystal of psyche** – Yeah…Kenshin is slow.  ::hehe:: Are the rest of the RK gang coming in?  Probably.

**aniprinzess (eh too lazy to login :-P)**  - thank you!  I've put a lot of work into this 'lil fic. :D  I love K&K too! ;)

**LSR-7** – thank you, and thank you for noticing the transitions in the moods of my story.  I appreciate that a lot.  I also wanted to thank you for the miso tips!  If you notice I updated this chapter with it, but I still need to fix chap. 30.  Thanks again for all your support throughout my long drawn out fic ;)

**Naoko Himura (ruroken@latinmail.com**) – thank you! I hope you liked this chapter too. 

**Chibi Battousai** – thank you, no worries, lots of times I can't think of much to say either. (hence my constant writers block! _)  In anycase, why did you change your s/n?  

**redroseprincess678** – thank you.  Maybe I will tell you what happens in the future.  I don't want to spoil it for you though.  ::hehehehehehe::

**Saby-chan** – YAY!! I'm so happy you liked the WAFF!!  I was a bit surprised at myself actually, but I loved that whole scene!  ::eheheheh::  You would really print my story?  You're so sweet!  I take that as a really big complement.

**marstanuki** – hey girl!! Sorry about the 2 long hiatus' in a row.  O_o;;  GOMEN bows really low  I'm super sorry.  I got a new job and so I've been really busy.  I hope you liked this chapter.  I'm loving your fix…time for you to update ne?  ::eheheh:: 

**Kriska**  - blushes  aww,  you're so nice to say that.  I hope you will continue to read and enjoy my fic. :D

**Vesca** – ME TOO!!  I hope you liked this chapter :D

**Macy** – I LOVE Yuki too!!  I just watched DVD #3 last night so I'm all FB'ed out at the moment.  ::heheh::  Thanks for all your support from the beginning. big hug

**kyanos** - ::eheheh:: YAY!!  That's so cool!!  Loved your review, that I did!  I love WAFF too!!  Did you like this chapter too?  Will the rest of the gang come into the fic?  Maybe.  Thanks again.

**Himiko-chan (wu_manthesolitarydragon@yahoo.com)** – thank you so much for your well said and wonderful review. I really appreciate that you took the time to say so much.  You read my whole fic in an hour?  You must be a speed reader.  O.O super impressed bunny.  Thanks for the support!!

**Gina** – thank you!!  I know, I loved that part too.  I was so excited when I thought up that idea because I thought it was so totally wicked cool.  (I don't consider myself to be that imaginative so I was quite proud of myself for that one (for once!) so thank you bunches for noticing!)

**Battousai angel** – I know, I'm so happy!!  Thanks for all your support from the beginning ba-chan :D

**almira** (almi_saure@yahoo.com – you're so sweet, thank you!!!  Thanks for all your support since the beginning.

**eLoQueNCe** – no worries about not reviewing the other chapters, your one review made up for them all!!  big grin thanks for reading and reviewing and I hope you continue to enjoy this fic!

**Kamimura Kaoru** –thank you.  Yeah…Yuki was a cool cameo I thought.  ::eheheheh::  I'm SO HAPPY you liked the part with Kenshin's eyes. I was so excited when I thought up that whole scene! Thanks for appreciating it.  ;D

**Shiko** – thank you, I'm really happy that you like my fic.  What do you mean by Kenshin never met Tomoe? Wedding?  Maybe.  Sequel?  Don't hold your breath.  ::heheheh::  I'll be ecstatic when I finish this fic ;)

**Lysse-chan (lysse_chan@hotmail.com)** - thank you, what nice comments about the character development too.  Thanks for the support ;)

**Crystal** – Aww! Thank you!  It makes me feel better that you said the last chapter was worth the wait. ;)

**Yen** – Thank you so much, what a nice thing to say.  ::hehe:: I think Kenshin & Kaoru are pretty funny too.  I'm super happy that you got a kick out of my fic.  Thanks for the feedback and support ;)

**Leigh** – I'm really excited that their relationship has finally blossomed as well.  It's so exciting to write about it ::hehe::  Yeah…this fic won't be over for a while still.  O_o;;

**Shizuka** – I'm sorry about the long wait periods between my updates.  ;( I'm so happy you liked the kitchen scene!  I loved writing it, it was soooo much fun.  I had a blast looking up the best adjectives in the thesaurus!!  ::hehe::  Thank you bunches for reading my humble fic and for your support ;)

**AngelsExist** – Happy to have you back!!  Um…I'm trying to update as often as possible, but it's very random so far.  Sometimes it's a couple of days, sometimes a couple of months.  O_o;;  I'm very sorry…I just don't have the schedule to allow me to be super regular at the moment, and each chapter takes a lot of  work and thought on my part, so usually it takes longer.  I hope you will enjoy the story and continue to read it, regardless of my flaws ^_^

**Zackire **– Yeah…he's been slow, but not as slow as the Kenshin from the future…you know since he never wandered…oh wait!!  I'm getting into spoilers.  Anyhow, thanks for all the support!!

**Jason M. Lee** - ::hehehe:: I won't forget Tohru, I totally love her, she's so awesome.  I want to be just like her when I grow up.  LOL  *falls over laughing hysterically mumbling "when I grow up" * Thanks for always being here ;)

**Lizzie (lizziea51@yahoo.com)** - You're so nice!! What a lovely review!! ::chants "one of the best" "one of the best"::  ::hehe::  You took my breath away and it's so encouraging to know that some of my readers feel that my sorry attempts at writing are worth waiting for.  **big hug**  Thanks again!!

**Ewunia** – Thank you, what a nice compliment!! Sorry about the long waits between updates, I'm working on it!!

**Val** – Thank you!! I loved the eyes thing too…it was hard for me not to melt into a puddle and I was the one coming up with those lines (ok…that's kind-of a scary thought! O_O)  In any case, thank you bunches for your support and reviews, they are a real encouragement to me.

**J** – thank you…I hope so too.  I think it will, at least for a little while since I know what I want to write about for the next few chapters anyhow.  Let's hope for the best.  Thanks for all your support!

WHEW!  **wipes sweat off brow**  that was a lot of work!  O_o;;  Thanks everybody again for all the support.  And also thank you's to the readers and reviewers at my website, media miner and Mir's archive TFME.

Till the next chapter,

SORRY ABOUT ALL THE FORMATTING PROBLEMS.  FF.net was Tripping!!  O_o;;  ::hehehehehehehe::

Bunny ;D


	36. Bad News Comes in Twos

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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A/N: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"I hear he's claiming to be the Hitokiri Battousai."  Another voice said, also male.

"I didn't know the Hitokiri Battousai was from the Kamiya dojo." Commented the first voice.

"Yeah, me either.  My son used to study there, but we pulled him out as soon as we heard about the Hitokiri Battousai being one of their students.  My wife and I didn't want our son to become a cold-blooded killer."

Up in the tree, a Kenshin with blazing golden eyes, not hiding his anger restrained a seething Kaoru.

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Chapter Thirty-Two – Bad News Comes in Two's

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Both of them had quickly walked home, keeping silent about their anger, so that passer-bys wouldn't overhear their conversation and spread the rumors further.  While Kenshin was angry that someone was killing innocent people, and using his name, Kaoru was upset that the name of her good dojo was being ruined by the name of an assassin.  By the time Kenshin and Kaoru returned home, Kaoru was beyond livid.  As they stepped into the courtyard, she slammed the gate behind her, and finally broke the silence in her outburst.

"BATTOUSAI!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Kenshin froze for a moment at the outburst.  It was the first time she had ever yelled out the name of his alias, and for a moment he feared that she was addressing him directly.

"I have NEVER been so INSULTED in MY ENTIRE LIFE! Just who do they think they are spreading rumors like that about MY dojo?!?! Kaoru began her rant, too side-tracked to noticed Kenshin's tense reaction to her outburst.  Kenshin relaxed for a moment as he realized that Kaoru wasn't addressing him.  "THE HITOKIRI BATTOUSAI, Kenshin" She continued venting to him, her arms gesturing wildly in his general direction, " The cold-blooded manslayer!" Kaoru continued her tirade, even more worked up now than when she started.

Kenshin realized as she was screaming about him, that although she didn't realize it, she was still technically talking about him at this point.  He hung his head, concealing his eyes from her, to hide the hurt at her words, and the shame over his past. His past and the name that came with it, as well as all the horrible rumors connected to that name.  It was a new experience for him with Kaoru – to see how she felt about the rumored Battousai, and he would be lying if he didn't admit that it hurt to hear her say such hateful things about him.

"The most feared samurai of the whole revolution!! HERE!! Studying!! In MY DOJO!! NEVER!!" she hissed.

Kenshin winced at her words and wondered fleetingly if he should just leave, but quickly dismissed that Kaoru had never been told the truth, and even if it hurt him, she deserved to know before he did anything like leave her all alone.  "The sword that protects!! The sword that protects, Kenshin!! Doesn't ANYBODY GET IT?!?" Kaoru finished and threw her arms up in the air in complete exasperation.

Kenshin, keeping his face down replied quietly, "I'm sure he's just an imposter Kaoru."

Startled at Kenshin's sudden input that was so calmly stated Kaoru was struck silent for a moment as she processed this new angle on her situation.  "Hmm." She finally said, "I suppose that's possible, but does it really matter?  The name of Hitokiri Battousai, in connection with my school could be disastrous; it is a great dishonor to our teachings.  I'm surprised you aren't more angry Kenshin, I mean, I know that Kamiya Kasshin wasn't the fighting style that you grew up with, but even still you have been teaching and using it for the past 10 years." Kaoru said.

'True.' Kenshin thought. 'But worse is that innocent people are dying, and they are using my name as the scapegoat.'  He fumed to himself.  Kenshin took a calming breath.  The more he thought about the whole situation, the angrier he got, and the angrier he got, the more he wanted the culprit's blood.  Wanting blood after vowing not to kill was not a healthy feeling, and worst of all was that now he needed to tell Kaoru about his past and not on his own timetable.  'First, I must tell Kaoru the truth.  Then I'm going to find this man and show him what happens when you anger the _real_ Battousai.' He thought darkly.  Finally, he looked up at Kaoru, to answer her question she had patiently been waiting for as he had thought up his plans.  "I am angry Kaoru, but I'm more angry that someone is using the name of Battousai to kill innocent people on the streets of Tokyo." Kenshin replied.

Kaoru gasped at the intense golden color of his narrowed eyes, she had seen these eyes before, yes…but not in anger…not in real life…only in dreams.  Although it didn't scare her, the reality of Kenshin's anger in real life was astonishing.  "Ken-" Kaoru began but was cut off as Kenshin said, "There are a few tings that we need to discuss.  Why don't we have a seat on the porch?"

"A-all right." Kaoru replied as she took a seat next to him on the porch and looked over at his tensed up form expectantly.  They sat there for a few minutes.  Kaoru with wide blue eyes, Kenshin with narrowed golden ones that got narrower and narrower, the longer they sat there.

"You are right Kenshin.  The reputation of my school is not as important as the fact that innocent people are dying.  It was selfish of me to be thinking that way." Kaoru finally said.

Surprised at Kaoru's confession, Kenshin's mood shifted and he turned wide violet eyes to meet her apologetic blues. 'She has such a beautiful heart.' He thought wistfully.  "Well…we will have to do something about this then won't we?" he said, trying to lift up her spirits.

Kaoru gave a weak smile.  "Did you know him or something?" she asked, changing topics.

Caught off guard at her quick change of subject, Kenshin let out a confused, "who?"

"The Hitokiri Battousai…I got personally involved vibes from you." She admitted, with an embarrassed blush.

Kenshin's eyes narrowed again, but this time kept their distinct violet color, "…or something…" he replied before turning his gaze away from her and back to the courtyard.

Surprised at his answer, Kaoru's eyes widened even further.  Just as she opened her mouth to voice her one million and one questions, a voice called through the front gate, "Miss Kamiya Kaoru?"

Both residents of the Kamiya dojo glanced up towards the front gate at their intrusion.  Upon seeing an officer, Kenshin frowned and stood.  Kaoru, a bit rattled at the sudden interruption, attempted to gather her wits and somehow proceeded to gracefully stand and make her way across the yard and over to the officer. 'It must be her kenjitsu training.' Kenshin thought absentmindedly as he watched her collect herself so quickly and gracefully.

"Yes, I'm Miss Kamiya Kaoru. Can I help you?" Kaoru asked the officer as she arrived at the gate.

Kenshin stood next to Kaoru, ready to step in if needed, while wondering what business the officer could possibly have with Kaoru.  'If it's about this Battousai imposter, and they do something to Kaoru, like take away the dojo…I'm going to hunt him down and _kill_ him.' He thought vehemently.  However, the officer held up a letter and handed it over to Kaoru.  Kenshin took in a surprised breath and held it.  'Oh no. Not already.' He worried, hoping that he wasn't correct on the contents of the letter.  'But what other letter could she be getting from the police?' he argued.  'It must be something else…it's too soon.' He hoped. 

"I'm very sorry." The officer said as Kaoru took it from his hand.

Kaoru gave the officer a puzzled look before he turned and walked away.  "I wonder what this is." She said to Kenshin as she walked back to the porch and after sitting back down began to open the letter.

Kenshin followed her, and _knew_ what the letter said.  The apology from the officer, confirmed his worst thoughts and he hid his face from Kaoru as he sat next to her and prepared himself to hear the news that he had always known would occur, and that he had always hoped to prevent.  He tensed with anxiety as he heard the crinkling of the paper Kaoru was slowly opening and worried over her reaction as she read silently to herself.

Only a few moments passed before Kaoru cried out, throwing the letter away from her as if it carried a deadly disease and threw herself on Kenshin, sobbing inconsolably.

Kenshin wrapped his arms around Kaoru's small form and knew for a certainty the contents of the letter.

Kamiya Koshijiro was dead.

Without a word, he lifted the young woman into his arms and carried her into her room.  He laid them both down on her futon, and let her sob for hours on his shoulder, until finally she fell asleep.

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A/N:  Well…that's it for chapter 32. More drama than the past few chapters…and there is yet more ahead. I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter.  I had GREAT AMOUNTS of difficulty writing it to my liking.  I almost completely trashed the first draft.  It was all rather frustrating.  Ok…I'm done venting now.  LOL. Please let me know what you thought about the chapter.

And in other news, prepare for the next party.  We're almost at 750 reviews, which means party time. :D  Hopefully I'll be able to write the next chapter of the story this week too.  Although I'm getting upset at my first drafts…at least I don't have writers block anymore.  LOL.

**FanFiction.net seems to be having issues showing me the reviews page, so no individual thanks this time.** (Sorry Everybody!) I **do** want to thank everyone very much for all your nice and informative reviews!! It's my inspiration!! **group hug** LOL ;D

Take Care Everybody!

Bunny ;D


	37. Post Traumatic Stress

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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A/N: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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Only a few moments passed before Kaoru cried out, throwing the letter away from her as if it carried a deadly disease and threw herself on Kenshin, sobbing inconsolably.

Kenshin wrapped his arms around Kaoru's small form and knew for a certainty the contents of the letter.

Kamiya Koshijiro was dead.

Without a word, he lifted the young woman into his arms and carried her into her room. He laid them both down on her futon, and let her sob for hours on his shoulder, until finally she fell asleep.

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Chapter Thirty-Three

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Brief A/N: I just wanted to clarify for everybody that this **is** an alternate timeline. This means that some events although familiar will in **most cases** NOT occur in the original stream of time from RK. I'm sorry that I forgot to warn everybody that the events of Kaoru's B-day, the death of her Father, and the beginning of the Himura Gohei incident have been changed around for the sake of keeping the story going. I just figured everybody would get that point…since I'm changing the whole story. In any case, considering that the story is called "How the Past can Change," I will warn you now that I have every intention to continue to change events, and the order in which they occur. End Brief A/N.

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Kaoru woke up early the next morning, alone. She wasn't really surprised, as Kenshin had always been one to be up before her, but a part of her had been hoping to see him first thing, to in some ways squelch the loneliness she was feeling deep within herself. She rolled to the side, stretching her arms out in front of her and absently watched her far hand twitch. 'Oh, Dad.' She thought as a lone tear made it's way down her face.

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Kenshin stepped out into the street and turned back to see if the "MOURNING" sign was centered properly on the outside gate to the Kamiya property. He had woken early and watched Kaoru's tear-stained face for a while as she had slept. Knowing that classes would be cancelled for the grieving period, he had finally forced himself to leave the comfort of her bed to make a sign to hang on the gate to notify everyone of the situation. He let out a sigh as he slowly opened the gate door, and going back into the property he trudged back to Kaoru's room, wondering if she had woken yet.

Knowing she was awaked, Kenshin murmured, "'morning Kaoru," To her back as he quietly slipped into her room, and stood motionless in front of her door.

"Yes." She replied, still absently staring at her hand almost as if she was looking through it.

Kenshin frowned before letting out another long sigh. "I've placed notice on the front gate for your students. Why don't you just take some time to relax today? I'll take care of everything else." He said.

Kenshin stood there, waiting for Kaoru to say something, but she didn't respond, so finally he turned around quietly walked out of her room, gently sliding the door behind him. He ran a hand through his bangs as he sat down on the porch just outside of Kaoru's door and watched the cherry blossoms float to the ground, lost in thought. 'STUPID!' he fumed as punched his fist into the porch floorboards. 'I should have been the to one to go. This wouldn't have happened if I had gone. What was he thinking? Why didn't I fight him more about it?' he silently berated himself for not preventing the events that he had known would happen. He sat there getting more and more upset the more he thought about it, and the more he dwelled on Kaoru's pain. 'I would do anything to take her pain away.' He thought sadly. Feeling defeated, agitated and restless, he decided he needed something to do, and away from the property and Kaoru's apparent depression. Even though he was not in the same room as her, he could FEEL her sorrow as if it were pulsing off of her in waves. 'I should go out looking for that imposter,' he thought. 'Maybe I can get some clues about him if I go into town and ask around.' He decided as he stood and made his way out of the dojo. "Get better my Kaoru," he whispered to the gate after closing it behind him. He softly touched the front of the gate for a moment, imagining it was Kaoru he was comforting, and then slowly began to walk down the street towards the town.

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"Ken…shin…" Kaoru whispered to herself in her room, "come back." Another long tear fell down her face before she closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep and forget about her problems.

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The first place Kenshin stopped at was the Akabeko to talk with Tae. "Good morning Tae-dono." He greeted as he entered her restaurant.

"Oh, good morning to you too Kenshin-san." Tae replied cheerfully. "How are you doing today?" she asked.

"Bad." He replied. "We got news yesterday evening that Koshijiro-san was killed during battle."

"Oh no!" Tae gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands. "Poor Kaoru-chan." She said to herself sadly. "How is she taking it?" she asked Kenshin.

Kenshin frowned, his one expression speaking volumes on how Kaoru was taking the news.

"Oh no. That poor girl...she really takes these kinds of things hard. I remember when her mother died; she didn't do well at all. She refused to leave her room or eat for days on end. You must take care of her Kenshin-san." Tae informed him.

Kenshin frowned at this new information Tae gave him. "That I will." He said to her. "I have another question for you. Have you heard any rumors about the Hitokiri Battousai in this area?" he asked.

Tae made a horrified face. "I have!" she exclaimed. "I heard he's killing people like crazy in the streets, especially at night. I heard he's really big and ugly too." She added.

"Have you heard anything about where he might be found?" he prodded.

"No. Not really, sorry Kenshin-san. I hope you aren't planning on tracking this guy down. You could get hurt, or even worse killed. Kaoru-chan would definitely not ever recover if she lost you too you know." She said.

Kenshin smiled. "You don't have to worry about me, that you don't."

Tae frowned. "If you say so. I think I'll plan to come over and visit you guys tomorrow if you don't mind. If you want to wait, I'll be happy to send you home with some free food." She said.

"That would be very nice. Thank you Tae-dono." Kenshin said before sitting down by the front while Tae headed to the kitchen to place the order for the food. 

Kenshin watched the people walking by on the street, carefully observing each person, searching for a clue on how to find his imposter. 'Big, ugly… and out at night…sounds like your average serial killer.  I can't believe he's using my name for this, and Kaoru's school.  He's going to pay. I will track him down get him. No matter what.' He thought as he narrowed his eyes at a group of men walking down the street talking to each other.  'I wonder if they know anything.' He thought as he took note of their appearances so he could track them down later and get any information they might have.

"Here you go Kenshin!" Tae exclaimed knocking Kenshin out of his thoughts as she came around to the front with a bag filled with boxes of food. "Enjoy, and please be sure to tell Kaoru-chan I said hello!" she added.

"Thanks again Tae-dono. See you tomorrow then." Kenshin said before leaving and heading back to the dojo for lunch with Kaoru.

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Kaoru awoke with a start, as if her subconscious mind had awoken her because she needed to be awake. Her heart pounding frantically, she strained her ears and stretched out her senses, just like Kenshin had taught her, trying to determine what had woken her and if she was in danger. Finally, she heard the soft shuffle of footsteps and almost immediately she knew it was Kenshin, who had returned from wherever it was he had wandered off to. Relief washed through her as she placed a hand over her beating heart, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Just as she had finished exhaling, Kenshin slid open her bedroom door and poked his head in.

"I'm happy to see you awake." He said as he started walking into the room, leaving the door open to let in fresh air. 

Kaoru watched him as if in a trance as he continued to come closer and talked with her. 

"I went to see Tae-dono and she sent home some lunch for you." He said with apparent forced cheerfulness. He gently set the bag down on the floor as he crouched down on the side of Kaoru's futon and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's a beautiful day…that it is. Would you like to go outside and eat on the porch?" he asked.

Kaoru nodded dumbly, as if her body was simply going through the motions, and there was no thought involved.

Noticing her odd behavior, Kenshin gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and said, "Everything is going to be ok Kaoru. Come on, let's go eat for now." He stood and then pulled Kaoru up to her feet. She swayed a bit, and Kenshin put his arms around her to steady her, unconsciously pulling her whole body closer to him. At their close contact, Kaoru sniffed, and in only a few seconds she had her arms back around Kenshin, crying on his shoulder. 

"Shh….shh…everything is going to be ok." Kenshin whispered soothingly.

"I miss him." Kaoru sobbed out as she grasped the front of his gi in the palms of her hands, clutching onto Kenshin as if he was her only lifeline. 

"I do too sweetheart…I do too." Kenshin said as he gently rubbed her back.

"Promise me you won't ever leave." Kaoru said as she buried her face into his chest.

"I promised your father that a long time ago Kaoru, and I promise you the same now. I will never leave you…not unless you want me to." Kenshin said.

"Oh Dad. Always looking out for his baby girl." Kaoru sighed through her sobs, touched that her father had known her so well. "I would never want you to leave me Kenshin, not now…not ever." Kaoru said with conviction before she moved her arms out and hugged him back. "Not ever." She repeated.

"Thank you." Kenshin said, his throat thick from the intense love he felt for the young woman in his embrace.

"For what?" Kaoru asked.

"For loving me. For being my everything." He replied before burying his face in the crook of her neck, ending the conversation. 

The two stood there holding each other for what seemed like hours, enjoying the comfort they were able to give each other over the loss they both felt, at the loss of their father.

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A/N: Well…that's it for chapter 33.  I know it was sad but wouldn't it be weird if they didn't grieve?  In any case, I'm quite proud of myself for finishing this chapter in **less than a week**  whooo hooo!! ::does a little dance while chanting "go bunny, go bunny"::  LMAO.

ANYHOW, special thanks to the following reviewers for chapters 31 and 32:

**chapter 31** -----

**Macy** – You're awesome.  You are so nice to always review :D

**Alex** – I don't have a mailing list for when I update my fic, but I do have my story on my RK website () and I have a mailing list there, so if you wanna join…you'll know when I update through my site.

**LSR-7** – About the holding hands thing…I guess I didn't write it very well, because my intent was to convey that he was more like dragging her by his hand, but she was excited that he was holding her hand.  Also, in the anime, Kaoru glomps Kenshin quite a bit – even in public and when other people are around, so I'm not really worried about it.  Thanks for the tip though ;D

**DAX Demon** – Mine takes the cake? O_o;; ORO!  Thank you, what a nice compliment.  Writing anything new?  No…in fact as soon as I'm done with this story, I'll probably quit writing all together.  I'm really not that creative.  I just thought of this idea, and I REALLY wanted to read it myself and since nobody else (at the time) was writing a story like this, I decided that I would go ahead and write it.  I'm sure a lot of people could have done a much better job, but I'm trying to do the story well. :D

**sawdust monster** - Thank you…I like the thought of that too.  I'm very happy that you are enjoying all my craziness which is this fic. ;D

**Night Rain** – :falls over laughing hysterically:: I know…I love that too.  Kaoru learning Kenshin's techniques.  It was too awesome to resist. :D

**Someone** – about the review parties tip – if you had read my a/n after the 500 party, you would have known that I already decided not to do another one till I hit 750.

**Varina**- thank you, I'm very happy that you got 2 days of enjoyment from the story.  How many reviews am I trying to get?  ::falls over:: actually…I was only trying for 100 when I started this fic.  It just ended up being much more popular than I expected it would be.  O_o;;

**kawiibaby88**  ::hugs:: thank you…that was sweet of  you to say :D

**bek** – thank you for all of your nice reviews ;D

**Delphine Pryde** – thank you…I try

**Sailor Cosmos** – thank you for all your feedback about the time travel.  It was very difficult for me to write some things, and I was probably still terribly misunderstood in a lot of the writing, but hey – you're enjoying it and that's all that counts right? :D

**Silent Teardrops** – thank you, and I would hope that each chapter gets better. Take care :D

**almi (almi_saure@yahoo.com)** - sorry about the long hiatus…but I'm back now.  I hope you are still enjoying the fic ;D

**Angelin** – 3 times?!  Wow.  I'm impressed.  ::hands over a big fan banner and a box of chocolate::  You're the best :D

**crystal of psyche** – yeah…I wonder what's going to change for everybody with these new developments. :D

**wolfpack** – thank you, what a nice thing to say.  There are tons of other really good (and much better) than mine stories out there.  Check my favorites, check chibi-angel and check anna-neko for sure. ;D  As for the future…we'll see.

**Zackire** – gotta keep you on your toes :D

**Battousai (battousai10k@hotmail.com)** - thank you…that means a lot to me :D

**lidmoon02** – You're in luck – there will be quite a few more chapters yet ;)

**marstanuki** – I know, I know.  I deserve a beating, but I was really busy and I was depressed a bit in the winter, and it killed my creative capabilities completely.  Thankfully I'm over all that now, and back on the happy update my story wagon.  LMAO!! ;D  Which reminds me that you have a story yourself that is in need of some serious updating.  MMMMHHMMM.

**Michiru Kashyuuno** – thank you!  I'm very happy you are enjoying the fic. I'm sort-of starting where the manga starts, but only sort-of (you'll see what I mean.)

**Shizuka** – thank you for your nice comments.  It's soooooo incredibly cool to see someone so into the story ;D

**AT-chan** – ::hugs:: my friend! :D  Thanks for reading my fic…it makes me supremely happy :D  I'm surprised you think I have "writing skills" I think I suck, but you know…people are never satisfied with their own work ne? :D  Besides, you're the big author of the two of us, not 'lil 'ol me.  ::heheh::  Catch ya on the forums. ;D

**Azura Dea** – thank you!! It's so nice to see someone who's been a long time reader of my story get so excited about the progress of the characters.  You're a real encouragement for me.  THANK YOU BUNCHES!

**Silver Eyes Bright** - ::heheheh:: YEAH!! LOL ;D

**Jezika** – I think I'm improving on the update time…at least for these last 2 chapters.  Right? Right?  ;D

**NightRain** – I'm soooo happy you liked the river scene.  It took me forever to get it the way I wanted it ;D  As for Kenshin remembering the future…it wouldn't really be a memory…since he hasn't been through it yet.  And Kaoru from the future didn't tell Battousai much about what the future held, only a few things that she slipped up on.  In anycase, you'll see what I mean in the next few chapters ;D

**lizzie (lizziea51@yahoo.com)** - It's so nice to make people's days :D  whooo hooo!! ::bows:: I'm happy to help, that I am :D  Take care :D

**Vesca** – it's true it's problems, but she has to find out eventually ne?  And WAIT till you see what happens next!!  ::evil grin::  thanks for the welcome back ;D

**the_great_2nd_child**  - thank you…one word can say a lot and that was a very nice one ;D

**Koneko-dono** – YAY!! ;D I'm so happy you liked the chapter.  Sorry about the updates time (and yes you have nothing to talk about! :P)  LOL ;D  take care ::hugs::

**Ewunia** – sorry about the time…thank you for being such an awesome fan! :Hugs:

**Jason M. Lee** – thanks for all your help as always…and of course being the first to review and hit up my corrections ;D

**chapter 32** ----

**at-chan** – JUST YOU?!?!?! ::falls over laughing hysterically:: you're the one I talk to everyday.  LOL I'm happy you are still enjoying the fic :D

**Battouasai (battousai10k@hotmail.com)** - thank you very much.  You always have such nice and informative reviews.  I really appreciate the thought you put into them.

**Almira** – who said anything about me not writing anymore?!?!? 

**Macy** – me too…the party is going to be wicked cool for sure :D  It's true, it's all sad now…but soon it will just be funny ;D LOL ;D

**Chihiro** – thank you for saying such nice things!! WOW!!  You're so nice ;D

**Azura Dea** – I know…sorry…but we had to have the sad part to get to the fun parts up ahead ;D

**Luna Moon** – WOW!! Thank you!!  (Not even close to being ½ as good as the real show, but thanks for saying so anyways :D)

**Koneko-dono – **You are going to LOVE that 'lil chat…just you wait!! ;D

**Hana Himura** – I know…it's sad huh?  I updated soon, are you proud of me hana-chan?!?! :D

**Zackire** – thank you bunches :D

**Vesca** – it does.  Thanks for noticing the chapter title.  I really appreciate that. :D

**NightRain** – thank you for the wonderful review, and thank you for letting me know about those typos.  And look! I updated **so quickly**  whee!! ;D

**Yuki** – I know…I'm sorry about the length.  I'm not very good at getting a nice length for each chapter, but I'm working on it.  In any case…I can't wait to write about Kenshin meeting up with the fake Battousai ;D

**XP-DarkAngel** – I updated soon.  Thanks for reading :D

**Gypsy-chan** – ::big hug:: thank you so much!! It really means a lot to me that you thought I did a good job with that scene.  See you at the party (of course) ;D

**Marstanuki** – Uh…I don't know how many chapters it will be yet…there is still quite a ways to go…soo…yeah…  LOL

**LSR-7** – Yeah…read my A/N at the top of this chapter. That should clear things up for you ;D  thanks for the review and it's definitely more than 1 from you…I take notice of those who review faithfully ;D

**chibnomiko (chibnomiko@yahoo.com)** - thank you! Yes, I plan on continuing to write this story ;D

**Jason M. Lee**  - thanks again for all your input.  I really appreciate all your help ;D take care ;D

**Ewunia** – I'm trying to update more often…it's just very difficult for me because I'm a very busy person.  In anycase, thanks for reading and sorry about the font thing…it was FF.net tripping.

**Jezika** – thanks for reading my a/n's and commenting on me updating…and LOOK! I did.  ::ehehehehehe:: take care :D

**Night Rain** – thank you thank you thank you! That was a really wicked cool review. :D

Well…2 hours later…LOL…thanks again everybody!! ;D

Hopefully I can get another chapter out by next week ;D

Bunny ;D


	38. Conflicts

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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A/N: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"Thank you." Kenshin said, his throat thick from the intense love he felt for the young woman in his embrace.

"For what?" Kaoru asked.

"For loving me. For being my everything." He replied before burying his face in the crook of her neck, ending the conversation. 

The two stood there holding each other for what seemed like hours, enjoying the comfort they were able to give each other over the loss they both felt, at the loss of their father.

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Chapter Thirty-Four -- Conflicts

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Two weeks later, Kenshin found himself absentmindedly listening to Kaoru yell at her students while scrubbing laundry. 'I never realized before how much I enjoyed doing the laundry.' He mused as he realized he had completely lost himself to the simple chore. It had been an interesting couple of weeks, to say the least. Kaoru was still pretty depressed about her father, at least once a day she broke down completely, crying her heart out and in the most interesting places too. On the roof, in the bathhouse, by the riverbank, on tree limbs, in the kitchen cupboards, in her bedroom in the middle of the night, she even walked out on her students the second day she had resumed classes. Her intense depression had made him become so concerned with being there for her that he didn't have much time to dwell on his own pain, and for that he was grateful. Although Kaoru had not died when she had returned to the future, the pain it had caused him to be separated from her was extremely intense; in fact, she may as well have died, for how much it affected him. Those feelings were ones he had hoped to never experience again, and although the loss of Koshijiro still pained him greatly, it paled in comparison to his concern for Kaoru. It seemed as though every other minute, he was running off to comfort her because he could _feel_ her breaking down. The few occasions he had found himself finished with his chores, and Kaoru in a somewhat cheerful mood, he had been working on tracking down the Battousai imposter. Which brought him back to doing the laundry, which was the only opportunity he had to just _slow down_ and _think_ about the more important issues in life. Primarily, how he was going to tell Kaoru about his past, and when. 

It had been plaguing him for the past two weeks. He knew she needed to know. He knew it had to be soon, especially since realizing exactly _how much_ Kaoru disliked the idea of living with a manslayer. She deserved to know the truth. But there was a problem. She was already devastated about her father, and Kenshin couldn't bring himself to tell her, fearing that as Tae had said, it would make things even worse for her if she lost him as well. Not that he wanted to leave - she would certainly have to kick him out in order for that to happen, but he knew that the truth about who he was, and what he represented would take its toll on her emotionally. Regardless, it was eating away at his conscience, and worst of all, Kaoru had noticed - despite her own emotional turmoil. He couldn't help it, it just didn't feel right anymore to hold her, kiss her, speak lovingly with her…she didn't really want him. It made him feel dirty. Stained. The times he gave in to his emotions and showed his love for her, he knew he was living a fantasy, one that would come to a rather abrupt halt as soon as she discovered the truth about his past and who he really was. In a way, Kenshin had to admit to himself that part of the reason he had not yet told Kaoru was selfish - maybe just for a little bit longer he could bask in her ignorant love - wishing that it was all true. Kaoru had noticed though, how he had begun to pull away from her to a certain degree. This morning things had come to a bit of a head while during their daily training she had gone so far as to confront him about it.

~~flashback~~

Like most mornings, since Kaoru's training in Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu had begun, Kenshin and Kaoru were training in the river just outside of town. Kaoru was blind folded, working on a ki exercise in which Kenshin would randomly attack her from different angles. She would not only have to sense him coming, but also move quickly enough with the friction of the water to get away from him before being hit. Not like he actually hit her even if she didn't make it away on time - he would only place the tip of his own reverse blade to his attack point to let her know her get away had been unsuccessful. After a few unsuccessful attempts in a row, Kenshin had admonished her, "pay closer attention, and remember to block out your thoughts in order to sense me sooner." 

Kaoru had suddenly exploded at his words yelling at him "How am I supposed to concentrate with you acting so strangely! All I can sense from you is the conflicts in your heart! What's got you so worked up? I know it can't be Dad, because it's not the pain that is so strong, but an inner turmoil. You would think the world was coming to an end and it was up to you to save everyone! What could possibly be bothering you THIS MUCH and I not know about it?" she finished.

There was a long silence before Kaoru finally whispered out, "It's not me, is it? Did I do something to make you begin to distance yourself from me as you have been?"

Kenshin had tensed up immediately, and was unable to mask his reaction from Kaoru, alerting her that she was the cause of his inner turmoil. She dropped her sword; tip down into the water, effectively lodging it between the smooth pebbles on the riverbed and removed her blindfold to look at his face and see if what she was sensing was really true, or simply imagined.

Kenshin stared at her for a moment and despite the conflict in his heart, couldn't help but admire how lovely she looked when her hair cascaded in long wet strands down her back and her bangs pushed to the sides, clinging to the side of her face in wet tendrils. Troubled with his conflict, as well as his reactions to her, he looked down, watching the gentle flow of the river, hiding his eyes from Kaoru's probing ones. 'The time is not yet right.' He thought sadly.

"Kenshin…" Kaoru whispered the desperation in her voice not lost to either of them.

"We need to return, or we will be late." He said abruptly ending their conversation. He jumped to the riverbank. Kaoru had let out a hefty sigh and then followed his lead and jumped onto the bank herself, knowing what came next; now that they had begun her serious training, Kenshin used everything they did together to train her - including their travels. 

The two of them stood on the riverbank for a moment, the water softly dripping down their wet clothes, their silence at this point unusual and uncomfortable.

"GO!" Kenshin said and a moment later both of them sprang into the trees, racing home by jumping from limb to limb and rooftop to rooftop. __

~~End Flashback~~

Remembering the difficult conversation he would face once classes were finished for the day, Kenshin sighed as he snapped the now clean sheet from the laundry tub and hug it to dry with the rest of his wash for the day, took a step back and admired his work. 

"I will have to just deal with it later." He murmured to himself before he proceeded towards the gate, out of the dojo in order to continue his hunt of the fake Battousai.

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A few hours later Kenshin found himself still listlessly roaming the streets of Tokyo. Classes at the dojo had finished a couple of hours ago, he knew. And Kaoru was probably sitting at home fuming to herself about him, but he couldn't help it. He didn't want to go home and have the discussion that he was certain she would want to have with him. So he continued on through the streets, absentmindedly searching for the fake Battousai, concentrating more on his anxiety about confronting Kaoru.

Forgetting his dilemma for a moment at the sounds of yelling, Kenshin picked up his pace to run around the corner of the street to witness a scene he had hoped he would never encounter. 

There stood Kaoru, her sakabatou held out in front of her in a defensive stance, a few men, one of them _very_ large, surrounding her.

"Hitokiri Battousai!! You will pay for what you are saying about my dojo and the people you have killed!" Kaoru yelled to the largest man in the middle.

The big man had laughed at her before unsheathing his own sword and bringing it down on Kaoru. Kaoru had dodged, but the large man had been able to nick her on the side of her arm. 

'She must be distracted still from her problems.' Kenshin had thought, excusing her surprising deficiency at the art. His eyes then turned a fierce golden at seeing Kaoru's blood spring from her arm a second later. Without another thought, Kenshin had sprung into action, picking up Kaoru and jumping up onto a roof, away from the large man attacking her.

Utterly surprised at the intrusion on her battle, Kaoru looked up into the face of her savior, one arm in her lap, the other hanging to her side, loosely holding her sword and then she gasped, "Kenshin!"

Realizing what had happened at Kaoru's gasp of his name; Kenshin looked down at the young woman in his arms. "Your hurt. Let's go home and leave this battle for another day,"

"No!" Kaoru had said immediately while also trying to pry herself out of his arms. 

The fake Battousai had taken his leave and was already parading down the street, swinging his sword around proclaiming, "I'm the Hitokiri Battousai of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu!"

"I finally found him, and he's not getting away with this any longer Kenshin!!" Kaoru had yelled, continuing to squirm, in an effort to be released and chase after the man defaming her good dojo.

Kenshin tightened his hold on her as she squirmed. "I'll come and take care of him later if you want, but first we need to take care of that arm of yours." He said calmly before he ran back towards the dojo, carrying a befuddled and bemused Kaoru the whole way there.

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A/N: Well, that's it for chapter 34. I hope you all enjoyed it. This is the last chapter before a lot of action and more drama that is to come. Lots of action. Yep, yep. ;D 

Anyways, I want to let you all know that I'll be at **Anime Expo** this upcoming week (July 2-7) so there won't be any more updates until I get back from that. I'm SO EXCITED! If you happen to be going to AX, I'll see you there! ;) I'm going to be on the FanSite panel again this year, so I'm easy to find. It's Friday night from 8:30 - 10:00. 

Anyhow—

Special Thanks to the following for reviewing my last chapter: **orchid-child18, alex (saishin87@yahoo.co.uk), bek, LunaAngel, shirokitsune, Hana Himura, crystal of psyche, straberyshrtcake (straberyshrtcake@hotmail.com), Battousai, darkfire, Lid02 (lidmoon02@comcast.net), KenshinXKarou-fangirl, marstanuki, yv, Azura Dea, PhyreWitchGoddess, XP-DarkAngel, Varina, Sailor Cosmos, Aino Saori, Serenity, LIZZIE (lizziea51@yahoo.com), Ayame, Chiki, Jezika, Silver Rune, yuki, angelstargazer, Koneko-dono, Toraneko, almira, ShimmerNymph, Hitokiri Himura Jenni (rurouni_jenni_himura@yahoo.com), LSR-7, JML, Lysse-chan**

**Thank all you guys for your wonderful comments.  They are really encouraging to me, especially those of you that put extra thought into your reviews.  But I also really appreciate the quick ones that say, "that was good." Or "update soon" because I know that there are people reading the story and that they enjoy it.  Thank you everybody!  ::group hug::**

Here are a few answers to your questions:

**LunaAngel – **Please don't stick the MOON CHOCOLATE HONEY CATS ON ME ::runs away screaming::  LOL

**alex (saishin87@yahoo.co.uk) - **Will this be an epic? Uh…isn't it technically already one? I don't really know for certain. I know that there is still quite a bit to go before this story ends, but I'm not sure when I'm going to end it, although I do know how. ;D

**Hana Himura - **::glomps:: Guess what? Guess what? I'm having a party…wanna come?  Yes…you should be updating, and look! I already have yet another chapter out.  This **must** be record breaking for me.

**marstanuki - **The Sailor Senshi of SailorMoon are I would describe as warrior princesses. They are all princesses of their respective planets, and I think that at times they are referred to as goddesses, but they aren't goddesses in terms of what one would normally think of when they think of a goddess. (You know like people worshipping them and stuff.)  As the princesses of their planets, they inherit the power of the planet from which they protect and rule. The actual star of the planet resides in their hearts and that's where they draw their power from, with the exception of Usagi/Sailor Moon whom also has the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal, which follows the wishes of her heart. I hope this helps. ;D

**Azura Dea - **When will the rest of the Kenshin-gumi come? Soon.

**Aino Saori – **Thank you for such a nice review.  That was really encouraging to me to see how into it you are, it makes all my work worthwhile.  As for the longer chapter…I'm trying.  Was this any better?  I can't seem to get much more into each chapter than the pace I'm currently at.  ::sighs::

**Chiki – **I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! ACK! ::glomps:: thanks for reading my story! AS you know…I love yours.  Anyhow…here's the answers to your questions:

Why the sudden change on Kenshin's speech?  Well, actually there wasn't as drastic of a change as you think.  Most of that was when he was talking with Tae, and all other interaction since becoming a wanderer before now has only been with Kaoru and Koshijiro, who he treated as if they were family, so he didn't talk to them in that way.  He started doing it a bit with Kaoru after she went off about his alias (HB) because it changed his viewpoint on her feelings for him.  It's only subtle now because he's trying to hide the truth from her until she recovers more from her Father's death.  I hope this explains it a bit more from you.  It had a hidden meaning to it, and I was trying to show the meaning through the story, but I guess I didn't do a very good job since you needed to ask me about it. O_o;;

I don't write lemons, period.  So no worries on that point. ;D

Thanks for liking the OOC!  (I personally love OOC.)

See lookie, lookie…I already updated :D  ::hehe::

Is Okita and or Saitoh going to be in this fic?  Probably.

About Enishi…you will see. :D

Thanks again for reading my story and for such a nice and informative review! ;D

**Koneko-dono – **I know…I surprise myself too.  Sorry this chapter wasn't more happy…or waffy for that matter.  (darn these necessary evil chapters) Lol ;D

**Toraneko – **Is this story going to tie with the anime?  Um…kind-of.  There are…events I'm going to keep, but if you mean am I going to re-write the whole anime but add a few changes, then no.  This is a different story.

**ShimmerNymph – **As for Kenshin knowing that Koshijiro was going to die and not preventing it- well, here's the thing, if you go back and read the chapters before Koshijiro left, I think it will help.  Kenshin knew that he was going to die, but he didn't know how or when, so he was guessing that the war **might** have been it.  So he didn't really know for sure.  This is why now he feels guilty for not doing more to stop him, since he had an **idea** that this could happen. I'm not planning on the story being long and drawn out (though it is already a bit long and drawn out.O_o;;) I'm going to get to the point I want to get to, and then I'm going to stop.

**Hitokiri Himura Jenni (rurouni_jenni_himura@yahoo.com) -** Who is hotter, the Battousai or the Rurouni?  Battousai, hands down…but I would rather _marry_ the Rurouni. (don't tell either of them I said that…or there will be major chaos in this house)

**LSR-7 – **There is still a Gohei, it's just that the events are changed in the order they occur and how they occur, because the characters are different.  As for Kenshin's handwriting…it was a big sign. LOL ;D


	39. I Will Always Love You

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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A/N: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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The fake Battousai had taken his leave and was already parading down the street, swinging his sword around proclaiming, "I'm the Hitokiri Battousai of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu!"

"I finally found him, and he's not getting away with this any longer Kenshin!!" Kaoru had yelled, continuing to squirm, in an effort to be released and chase after the man defaming her good dojo.

Kenshin tightened his hold on her as she squirmed. "I'll come and take care of him later if you want, but first we need to take care of that arm of yours." He said calmly before he ran back towards the dojo, carrying a befuddled and bemused Kaoru the whole way there.

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Chapter Thirty-Five - I Will Always Love You

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Kaoru sat on the floor of the dojo while Dr. Genzai bandaged her arm and watched Kenshin pace back and forth across from her like a man possessed. As if his body language wasn't obvious enough, Kaoru could also tell from his intense ki that he was furious. He was mumbling to himself in an undertone that Kaoru was certain he probably couldn't even understand, while swinging his arms up and down, as if he was trying to figure out some great puzzle and he only had a few precious moments to get the right answer. Frankly, he was acting like the Battousai had chopped off her arm, and Kaoru thought it was all a bit drastic over a small cut.

"There you go now, all better Kaoru-chan." Dr. Genzai said gently as he stood up from his position at her side and made his way to the exit. "Himura." He said as he nodded towards Kenshin as a goodbye before leaving.

After Dr. Genzai left, Kenshin stopped pacing and turned towards Kaoru. "What were you thinking?" he scolded.

"Huh?" Kaoru asked, confused over his reprimand. "You mean, I shouldn't have been hit? I know. I was careless, I'm sorry. I'm still going to go get that guy though!" Kaoru said passionately as she brought her arm up and made a fist.

Kenshin practically growled. "No! I mean what were you thinking going out after that guy by yourself? You could have been killed!" Kenshin yelled at her, his eyes narrowing to intense violet slits.

Kaoru stood up and frowned. "Don't yell at me!" she screamed while she stomped her foot for emphasis.

Kenshin stormed across the room at her and grabbed her upper arms, "You don't get it do you?" he hissed at her.

Kaoru flinched briefly, but she held her ground. "Don't get what Kenshin?" she questioned blankly.

"I can't STAND the thought of anything ever happening to you. The sight of your blood makes me sick, even a small cut Kaoru, it makes me insane. I want to hunt down that Battousai impersonator and cut his head off for even _thinking_ he could attack you and get away with it." He said shaking her slightly as if trying to make her understand what he was feeling.

"Stop it," Kaoru begged as a few tears sprung to her eyes. It hurt her to hear Kenshin talking that way, even though his anger wasn't directed at her.

"Kaoru, perhaps I haven't made myself clear enough in the past, but you mean everything to me, and I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to you; do you understand?" Kenshin finished and released Kaoru's arms from his tight grasp. As he stepped away, he noticed he himself had been hurting her in his craze and in complete shame he hung his head, covering his eyes with his bangs. "I'm sorry." He whispered to her.

"It's ok." Kaoru replied, taking a tentative step closer to him and wiping away the long tears still streaming down her face.

"No it's not. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." He said, outwardly reprimanding himself for his actions. "Now you're crying." He added as he put a hand to her face and wiped away more of her tears. "It's all my fault." He whispered hoarsely. 

"Don't worry about it, Kenshin. I understand. You don't want to see me hurt." Kaoru placed a hand gently on Kenshin's shoulder, silently comforting him. "I feel the same way about you. It makes me happy to know that you still love me," she finished

Kenshin looked up at Kaoru and locked eyes with her; "I will always love you, Kaoru. Don't ever forget that. No matter what, I will _always_ love you." He said.

"Good." Kaoru said. She smiled and then reached out and took his hand and pulled him towards the door. "It's been a long day, and I'm tired. Let's go to sleep." She said.

"Whatever you say, Kaoru." Kenshin said as he allowed himself to be dragged back to the house and into her room. Kaoru laid out her futon for the both of them and pulled Kenshin down to sleep with her. In a daze, he agreed and didn't protest as he had in the past. He wrapped his arms around her smaller form and pulled her close to him. He heard her let out a content sigh, and almost immediately fall asleep. 'Just once more, I want to hold her in my arms, before she…' he stopped himself from completing his thought. "Ignorance is bliss." He murmured aloud to himself before allowing himself to join Kaoru in the land of the sleeping.

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The next morning Kaoru awoke to the wonderful feeling of Kenshin's arms wrapped around her and his warm breath tickling the back of her neck. She allowed herself to cuddle deeper into his arms and let out a deep sigh of utter contentment. 'Oh Kenshin. If only I could wake up to this every morning.' She thought to herself. 'Maybe…I can get a little bit more sleep before Kenshin wakes me up.' She hoped as she let out a large yawn and closed her eyes, drifting back asleep in a matter of seconds.

Not much later, Kenshin awoke to the comforting feeling of his arms around Kaoru. Not fighting his usual restraints in her presence, he allowed himself to nuzzle her neck and took a deep breath of her jasmine scented hair. 'It's been forever since I've been able to wake up and hold my wife and smell her hair.' He thought a bit wistfully. 'I wonder what Kaoru will say when I break the news to her that we have technically been married for the past twelve years.' He stopped himself from laughing out loud at the visual picture he had of her beating him over the head repeatedly with her bokken. 'More importantly, we need to get through the problems we have now before I can even get to that. If she's still even remotely interested in having any form of a relationship with me after she finds out about the rest of my past.' Kenshin's heart constricted at the thought of her rejecting him, and he unconsciously pulled her closer to him, as if to tell her that he would never let her leave him.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru questioned half-awake and half-asleep when Kenshin's arms tightened around her.

"Morning, Kaoru." Kenshin breathed into Kaoru's ear.

Kaoru shivered a bit at his close contact. "Are you awake now? I think we slept in. I woke up earlier and you were still sleeping, so I fell back asleep." She rambled, her grogginess apparent.

"It's ok." Kenshin answered. "We needed a break from our early mornings, I think we have both been under a lot of stress recently, with your Dad, and now this fake Battousai, and…"

"shhh…" Kaoru hushed him and wiggled herself closer into his embrace. "Let's just enjoy our late morning…" she murmured around a large yawn.

Kenshin smiled and put his face into her hair. "Ok." He whispered.

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Later that afternoon, Kaoru was doing a bit of personal training in the dojo when she felt Kenshin's presence. She paused in her kata and looked towards the door.

Kenshin smiled gently at her and said, "you didn't need to stop, I would have waited until you were finished."

"That's ok. What did you need?" Kaoru replied.

"I just wanted to let you know I was headed into town to buy some food at the market for dinner tonight." He paused, "would you like anything?"

"No, that's ok. I'll see you soon then. Take care." Kaoru replied with a smile.

About 10 minutes after Kenshin walked out of the dojo gates, a lone Kaoru paused suddenly in her practice and turned towards the dojo entrance. "YOU!" she hissed, immediately getting into a defensive stance.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA" her intruder replied menacingly.


	40. Hitokiri Battousai

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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A/N: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"I just wanted to let you know I was headed into town to buy some food at the market for dinner tonight." He paused, "would you like anything?"

"No, that's ok. I'll see you soon then. Take care." Kaoru replied with a smile.

About 10 minutes after Kenshin walked out of the dojo gates, a lone Kaoru paused suddenly in her practice and turned towards the dojo entrance. "YOU!" she hissed, immediately getting into a defensive stance.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA" her intruder replied menacingly.

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Chapter Thirty-Six - Hitokiri Battousai

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Breif A/N: I used a lot of lines from the manga translations on Anna-neko's site, RK Dreams to write this chapter. Many thanks to her for having those available, although this chapter was difficult to write, it helped me out a lot. ;D

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Kaoru's eyes narrowed dangerously at her intruders. 'I'm SO not in the mood for this. And of course they come when Kenshin goes out…figures, they think I'll be easy prey just because I'm a woman. OOOHHHH!! Those kind of guys make me so MAD!' she thought becoming furious at the whole situation. Kaoru adjusted her stance to an aggressive one, and prepared herself to attack the closest member of the Battousai's gang that had been nice enough to crash her personal training time. A second before launching her attack, a short old man stepped out from behind Battousai holding up a document. 

"Miss Kamiya Kaoru. The paperwork is completed. All we need is your seal to complete the transaction." He said to Kaoru, slowly approaching the now somewhat confused teacher of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu.

"What transaction?" Kaoru spat, maintaining her aggressive stance, preparing to strike out at her intruders at any moment.

"Why, selling your dojo to us of course." The man replied.

"WHAT!???" Kaoru shrieked. "I'm not selling my dojo! Are you crazy?!?!" she yelled to the man.

"Yes, you are. You're selling it to us." Battousai growled to a now completely fuming Kaoru. 

"Not in MY lifetime will MY dojo ever be owned by murdering SCUM like you!" Kaoru yelled to the large form that claimed he was the legendary manslayer.

"On the contrary young lady," the older man continued, "you will be selling this property to us, the easy way, or the hard way. Either way, this dojo will soon be property of Kihei-kan, owned solely by myself, Hiruma Kihei, and my younger brother Gohei." He said gesturing behind him to the large Battousai impersonator behind him.

Now completely beyond furious, Kaoru launched her attack on the gang. Leaping into the air, she quickly came crashing down on the older man who she had been speaking with, immediately knocking him unconscious with a swift blow to the crown of his head. She proceeded onward attacking all of Battousai's underlings hoping to take them out so she would be able to have a fair fight with the large man she now knew was Hiruma Gohei, owner of a rival dojo. As his brother fell to the ground, Gohei yelled to Kaoru, "how dare you hurt my brother!" Before chasing after the young woman who was quickly going through his gang, dislocating shoulders and knocking out the less powerful of her many opponents. After handling about 5 of the gang, Kaoru was abruptly grabbed from the back of her gi and lifted up high into the air.

"ACK!" she screamed at her abrupt halt in momentum and the pull of the cloth tight against her throat. 'That…was careless of me.' She thought to herself as she breathed heavily, trying to compensate for the slight choking from her current position.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Gohei laughed as he held Kaoru's small form high up above his head with his overly large arm. "Serves you right!" he yelled. "A woman, teaching kenjutsu!" he added mockingly.

Kaoru cringed at the insults she was now quite accustomed to. It was true, a woman kenjutsu instructor was not well accepted or common in a male dominated society, but hearing it from someone who killed for pleasure made her sick. "BETTER than a cold blooded KILLER like YOU!" Kaoru choked out.

A now recovered Kihei stood in front of Kaoru and gloated. "Kamiya Kasshin is no longer. This property now belongs to us." He grabbed for Kaoru's wrist and Kaoru began to squirm frantically, kicking her legs back towards Gohei, hoping his enormous hand would lose it's grip on her back.

Just as things were about to go completely out of control, a started gasp was heard from the entrance of the dojo. All activity within the dojo stopped and all eyes turned to the lone figure standing in front of the opened doors.

"S-S-S-Strong." The figure choked out before collapsing face forward onto the dojo floor.

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While walking back towards the dojo, bags of groceries in tow, Kenshin took special care to be aware of all of his surroundings. As soon as he had reached the market, he had had a bad feeling, almost like a sixth sense that something very bad was happening. Assuming that the Battousai impersonator was up to no good again, Kenshin was especially careful to observe everything as he made his way back home, hoping to track down the manslayer using his past alias, and take him out. His nerves on edge, and the feeling growing more urgent with each passing minute that he didn't track down the source of his distress, Kenshin began to grow worried that perhaps Kaoru was in some sort of danger.

Finally arriving at the dojo gates, Kenshin cautiously entered the property and called out, "I'm home." A moment of complete silence passed before Kenshin's ears heard Kaoru's voice and a man's voice yelling.

'He didn't.' Kenshin thought as he dropped the groceries in the courtyard and sprinted to the dojo entrance. Without making a sound Kenshin snuck up on the man standing guard at the dojo entrance whom stupidly had his back to him. He took a moment to take in the scene of Kaoru being held like a puppy by the back of her gi, by the fake Battousai, and a older, shorter man standing in front of them, surrounded by a group of men with swords. 

Kenshin heard the older man say, "Kamiya Kasshin is no longer. This property now belongs to us." In a low menacing voice to Kaoru. As the man reached for Kaoru's wrist and Kaoru began struggling frantically, 'you are a dead man,' Kenshin thought viciously as he moved into action. He plunged the dull edge of his sakabato into the back of the lousy guard, causing him to gasp from surprise, which stopped all activity in the entire dojo. Kenshin couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction as the guard choked out "strong" before collapsing face first onto the floor and revealing him to all the inhabitants of the room.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru gasped as she saw his lone figure standing in the lighted entrance of the dojo. "Get out of here!" she added.

"And leave my wife here with a bunch of good-for-nothing swordsmen who are attempting thievery? I don't think so." Kenshin said darkly, his eyes narrowing menacingly. "This should prove to be rather interesting." Kenshin added. "It's been awhile since I've had a good fight. I hope you won't disappoint me, as so many have."

'Wife?' Kaoru thought puzzled. 'How dare he say that!' she fumed as an afterthought. "Kenshin, you idiot! Get out of here, you're going to get yourself killed!" Kaoru yelled to him.

Ignoring Kaoru's cry out, Gohei laughed maniacally. "Well, you heard him boys, get 'em!" he yelled as his entire gang rushed towards Kenshin. 

With incredible speed, Kenshin charged forward to meet them head on. The clank of his sword exiting it's sheath was heard and after a few quick large arcs, barely able to be seen by the eye, all of the swordsmen from Gohei's gang lay sprawled out on the dojo floor, badly injured and incapable of moving. Only Kihei, who was cowering in the corner, Kenshin and Gohei remained standing, while Kaoru was still hanging in Gohei's hand by her top. Kenshin stood in the midst of the sprawled bodies facing Gohei and Kaoru, disbelief written on both of their faces at how quickly all of Gohei's allies had been immobilized. 

'The speed he reads his enemy's moves, the speed of his movement, the speed of his sword, all of it lets him get as many blows in without moving much.' Gohei thought in amazement.

'Amazing speed…'Kaoru thought in a complete daze. 

"I'm terribly sorry you had to find out this way Kaoru." Kenshin said, the regret evident in his tone of voice.

'What's going on?' Kaoru wondered in complete shock as she realized what Kenshin had just done, his voice waking her from her daze.

"If it were not for my sakabato, all of your men would have died with an unparalleled swiftness." Kenshin said to Gohei through narrowed violet eyes. "These techniques are part of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu." He continued. "The Hitokiri Battousai did not use the sword techniques of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu when he was an assassin during the Bakumatsu, but rather the technique of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, which was developed in the warring states era, designed to combat multiple enemies at once." He finished accompanied by a started gasp from Kaoru.

'K-K-Ken…shin…is the Hitokiri Battousai?!?!' Kaoru wondered in complete shock. 'NO WAY!' her mind screamed denial immediately. 'There is no way he would have kept something like that from me!' she thought. She locked eyes with Kenshin's narrowed violet orbs. 'No. He is. He's deadly serious…and he's pissed about all this too. No wonder he's been acting so strangely since we first found out about Gohei.' Kaoru concluded.

"Well, well, well…" Gohei said as he tossed Kaoru to the side. 

Kenshin watched Kaoru to make sure she was ok before turning back to Gohei. "Unlike you, I prefer to not use violence. However, now I very much regret not ridding the world of you the other day when you confronted Kaoru in the streets." Kenshin said, his eyes beginning to turn an amber color in his apparent anger at Gohei's treatment of Kaoru.

"The world doesn't need two Battousai's, so I think I'll just kill you now and take the name for myself." Gohei yelled as he raised his sword high into the air and lunged at Kenshin's much smaller form.

Kenshin immediately disappeared from Gohei's sight, causing a look of bafflement to overtake his face, and a pause in his vicious attack. 

"Up here." Kenshin taunted his impersonator a moment before he came sailing down from above Gohei and with great force smashed the large man through the dojo floor, head first.

"I don't like the name Hitokiri Battousai, nor am I proud of my bloodied past. However, I would never allow someone like you to use it to kill innocent people and place fear into the hearts of those who do not know anything about the name Hitokiri Battousai except for the ugly rumors." Kenshin said, venom dripping through his cold voice as he strolled casually across the dojo, not even out of breath and pointed his sword at Kihei.

"So…only you are left then." Kenshin said to Kihei. 

Kihei began to sweat in fear and cowered even more than he was previously while Kenshin was dealing with Gohei.

Kenshin's eyes glinted in an almost sick amusement. "Perhaps…I should use the other edge of my sword for you, as you are the one behind the plot to take this dojo away from my Kaoru. Therefore, your punishment should be the worst." He said.

Kihei ran into the dojo wall, and fell to the ground, wetting his pants in fear.

Kenshin chuckled. "What a coward you are." He bent down and picked up the document Kihei had dropped when he fell and shredded it with the sharp edge of his sword.  

"Kenshin?!?" Kaoru finally questioned as she stood from where Gohei had tossed her aside.

Extremely reminiscent of his first meeting with Kaoru, where his name from her lips had caught him off guard, likewise Kenshin froze at the sound of Kaoru's voice questioning him by his name.

"Kaoru?" Kenshin questioned back as he slowly turned to face her.

"Is…is it really true? Everything you said?" she asked, although she already knew the answer. It explained so many things about Kenshin. The dreams, his eyes, his random comments…

Kenshin hung his head in shame. "Yes, it's true. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I'v-" 

"HOW COULD YOU!! HOW COULD YOU KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THAT FROM ME?!" Kaoru yelled cutting him off. With tears in her eyes, she ran past him and out of the dojo towards the house.

Kenshin sighed. "I knew it. She hates me now." He said to himself as he began to gather up Kaoru's intruders in order to turn them over to the local police.

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A/N: Wow…I didn't have an AN for the last chapter. I know, you're all shocked. I'm sorry because I usually take the time to personally thank all my reviewers. (Don't worry, I still read each and every one of them and I'm very thankful to you all for your encouragement and support!)

In anycase, this is definitely record time for me- a chapter a day. Whoo-hoo!! I've had this chapter and the next chapter all written out in my head for like A YEAR anyways, so yeah…

I was thinking about making a mailing list to notify my readers when I update. Maybe if enough people would like me to do that, I can. If you would like to be on the list, mention it in your review, or send me an email at Usagi@PrincessSerenity.net.

As for the 750 reviewers party…O_o;; I know…I've been slacking on that. Probably by the time I get it together we'll be at 1000 reviews. So I think maybe I'll just wait until I have 1000 reviews before throwing another party. If you guys are unhappy with that decision, then I'll do a 750 party okie dokie? Since, you know, the parties are for the reviewers, not for me, although I do have fun writing them.

Well, that's about all for now. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. (Things have got quite interesting haven't they? ::laughs maniacally:: You haven't seen anything yet!!)

Please leave me a review, I'll be most grateful. ^_^


	41. Reunion

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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"Is…is it really true? Everything you said?" she asked, although she already knew the answer. It explained so many things about Kenshin. The dreams, his eyes, his random comments…

Kenshin hung his head in shame. "Yes, it's true. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I'v-" 

"HOW COULD YOU!! HOW COULD YOU KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THAT FROM ME?!" Kaoru yelled, cutting him off. With tears in her eyes, she ran past him and out of the dojo towards the house.

Kenshin sighed. "She hates me now." He said to himself as he began to gather up Kaoru's intruders in order to turn them over to the local police.

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Chapter Thirty-Seven - Reunion

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After returning from the police station, Kenshin went to Kaoru's room and called her name through the door.

"Go away Kenshin," was the cold response he received.

"I…I'll be out on the porch if you want to talk about it," he paused for a moment before adding despondently, "Kaoru-dono."

Kenshin made his way to the porch and sat down with a heavy sigh. He tilted his head toward the sky and closed his eyes, letting the sun warm his face. 'Oh Kaoru…why did things have to end up like this? What will happen to us now? Will you send me away and tell me you don't ever want to see me again?' he wondered. 'It's all my fault. I should have told her sooner. I really should have told her right away, and faced Koshijiro's wrath. I wish…I just wish I could make things better and go back to being happy together.'

"Kenshin?" 

Kaoru's voice calling for him jarred Kenshin from his depressed thoughts, and he wondered for a moment if it was just his imagination running wild. Then he heard her again. "Kenshin?!?" she called a bit more urgently. And as he opened his eyes, there she was…standing in the courtyard, the sun highlighting her whole body, making her appearance goddess-like and looking more beautiful then ever.

"Kaoru?" he asked before quickly adding, "-dono?"

Kaoru frowned at him and crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Kaoru-dono?" she questioned. "Really, honey," she said slowly as if speaking to a 5 year old, "are you having flashbacks of the past or something? You haven't called me that in years." She let out a big sigh as if emphasize to him that he was trying her patience before asking, "have you seen Kenji?" 

"Kenji?" Kenshin questioned. "Who's Kenji?" he asked.

Kaoru frowned before closing the few feet between them and placing a warm hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling well, Kenshin?" she asked in concern.

"HUH?" Kenshin replied before asking, "Are **_you _**feeling well? Kaoru…not even five minutes ago you told me to get lost, and now you are asking me about some guy named Kenji? Do I even know this guy?" 

Kaoru's frowned deepened and she knelt down a bit so they were eye to eye, and placed a hand on either of his shoulders before saying in all seriousness, "Kenshin. How could you forget the name of your own son?"

Kenshin blinked in shock. 'Son?!?' he wondered frantically. And then…suddenly it all came together for Kenshin. It all made perfect sense. He gave Kaoru a big smile and wrapping his arms around her drawled, "Kaoru. I'm so glad you're here."

"Wha?" Kaoru questioned at Kenshin's sudden mood swing. "That's it. You're going back to bed and I'm calling Megumi. You are definitely ill." Kaoru said with new determination as she began to pull herself from Kenshin's embrace. 

Kenshin tightened his arms around her so she couldn't pull away and said softly, "no…you don't understand. It's me…from the past. You must have somehow come back to me again."

Kaoru's eyes widened in disbelief. She stepped back from Kenshin to look him over, and this time he allowed her to move. She looked at him for a few minutes and then turned and surveyed the yard. Suddenly she snapped her fingers. "You're right Kenshin! Why, the yard looks almost exactly like it did when you first came to live with me." Then remembering whom she was talking with, she corrected herself, "well actually…I mean, when the other you came and you-" She stopped trying to explain things and sweat dropped. "Nevermind. Ok, so I'm in the past again." She said.

Kenshin just smiled in understanding. Then the reality of his situation sank in and extremely excited to see his wife again he stood up and threw his arms around her smaller form, crushing her against him. "I've missed you so much!" he exclaimed.

Kaoru hugged Kenshin back, also excited to see her first husband. "Wow! You know, I never thought I would see you again." She said to him, her shock and nervousness beginning to fade at the familiar feel of Kenshin's arms around her.

"So then, we have a son now?" Kenshin asked her as he pulled away a bit and encased her arms in his. He had a huge smile on his face, his current situation with his own Kaoru momentarily forgotten.

"Yeah, we do." Kaoru replied. "He's so cute too! Looks just like you." she added with a big grin of her own.

"So…you're happy then. I mean, with the other me?" Kenshin asked her.

Kaoru giggled. "Of course I am, baka! After all, you are you aren't you?" she replied.

Kenshin caressed the side of Kaoru's face with the back of his hand. "Just making sure. You are my dear wife after all." Kenshin replied softly, all joking aside.

Kaoru's eyes teared up momentarily at the love she saw reflected in his eyes and how wonderful it made her feel. "You're the best husband ever Kenshin. Past, present, future…you're wonderful." She breathed out to him before moving forward enough to give him a quick kiss of appreciation.

Kenshin closed his eyes as Kaoru kissed him, and allowed himself a blissful smile as he felt her moving away again.

"So, do you know why I'm here again?" Kaoru questioned, while simultaneously both Kaoru and Kenshin heard a voice yelling from across the yard. "KENSHIN! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!?"

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Kaoru ran to her room as she left Kenshin in the dojo, or rather…the Hitokiri Battousai in her dojo. Her fiancée, or perhaps her ex-fiancée now. Upon entering her room, she flung herself on her unmade futon that they had slept on just last night and wept inconsolably. 

"Why? Why? Why Kenshin?" she kept choking out between heaving sobs as she beat her fist into the soft futon for emphasis.

Exhausting herself both physically and mentally, she cried herself to sleep, only to wake up an hour later to Kenshin calling her name though the door. 

Feeling heartbroken and betrayed Kaoru said bitterly, "Go away Kenshin."

Not even knowing it was possible for her heart to hurt more, it constricted in pain as Kenshin said, "I…I'll be out on the porch if you want to talk about it." Grasping the front of her gi, as if to stop the pain in her heart, Kaoru collapsed onto the futon again as after a pause, Kenshin added despondently, "Kaoru-dono."

"Kaoru-dono?!?!" Kaoru whispered desperately as silent tears made their way down her face, her spirit broken. 'So quickly I become a "miss" to him. Yet…how could he have lied to me all those years? Keeping something so huge a secret from me?' she wondered.

She sniffed and searched for Kenshin's ki, wondering where he was and how he was feeling, although she wasn't sure why she cared. A moment later, she sat up abruptly. "Who's with Kenshin?" she wondered aloud before standing up. She walked to her closet and quickly changed into a fresh kimono and after fixing her hair and fanning her face to hide evidence of her tears, she headed outside to investigate the familiar, yet unfamiliar ki that was so close to Kenshin.

The sight that greeted Kaoru after exiting her room made her want to dig a hole in the ground and lay there till she died. There was a beautiful woman in Kenshin's arms and he was caressing the side of her face with his hand. A moment later the woman moved forward and kissed him affectionately. Kaoru gasped in shock that Kenshin allowed her to kiss him like that and before she could stop herself, she yelled across the yard, "KENSHIN! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!?" 

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A/N: Whee!! 2 Kaoru's now. I bet Kenshin's happy. ::giggles:: I hope everybody likes this. ^_^ I've been writing out this chapter and the next ones in my head since FOREVER and I hope I can do this well. It's hard to get them to a point where I'm somewhat satisfied with the end result...so thanks for putting up with this untalented author. O_o;; ::sighs::Well…at least I'm updating quickly ne? :D 

Thanks again to all my reviewers. I will throw a party…for those of you asking. You all definitely deserve it! Hopefully it will be soon. Party, party! It's hard to write a party when my brain is overflowing with ideas for the actual storyline though, so hopefully by the time were at 1k, I'll be ready to take a break from the story and write the party. I guarantee it will be the best party yet! Feel free to send me your ideas for the party, or email me about them. ;)

Till the next crazy chapter…

Bunny

Please don't forget to leave me a review!


	42. Kaoru x 2

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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A/N: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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The sight that greeted Kaoru after exiting her room made her want to dig a hole in the ground and lay there till she died. There was a beautiful woman in Kenshin's arms and he was caressing the side of her face with his hand. A moment later the woman moved forward and kissed him affectionately. Kaoru gasped in shock that Kenshin allowed her to kiss him like that and before she could stop herself, she yelled across the yard, "KENSHIN! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!?"

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Chapter Thirty-Eight - Kaoru x 2

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Kaoru and Kenshin turned startled gazes at the younger Kaoru as she flew across the yard towards them - which was quite a display of grace and skill being that she was in a constricting kimono.

'NICE!' the older Kaoru thought to herself, pleased with the skill level of her past self.

"This. Is not going to be pretty." Kenshin mumbled to himself, only to cause his first wife to giggle.

"HI!" the older Kaoru said as the younger stopped in front of them.

The younger Kaoru met eyes with her future self and froze. "Uh…" she replied as she stood there blinking repeatedly. "Who…" she finally said in a confused daze.

"I'm Kaoru…well, Kaoru from the future anyways." The older Kaoru explained with an embarrased smile.

Adding to the introduction, Kenshin placed an arm around the older Kaoru and said, "Kaoru, meet Kaoru…my wife."

Future Kaoru glared at Kenshin and said, "That's no way to introduce me you idiot! She's going to get the wrong idea."

A few awkward moments passed after Kaoru's exclamation before the younger Kaoru shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and then glared at Kenshin. "YOUR WIFE?!" She yelled in disbelief before she took the step separating them and began pounding on his chest in uncontrolled anger. "YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU WERE MARRIED! HOW DARE YOU KISS ME AND SLEEP IN MY BED AND PROMISE TO MARRY ME WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY MARRIED! YOU-YOU-YOU-" she sputtered a moment trying to find the right words before in a great explosion she finished with "YOU LADY KILLER!"

Future Kaoru stepped in and pulled the raging girl off of her husband. "Now, now…it's not like that." She said soothingly to her past self. "I'm Himura Kaoru. I'm from the future. You're future self to be exact." Kaoru explained calmly.

As her older self's words sank in, Kaoru stopped squirming in her older self's arms and questioned rather timidly, "you mean…you're me and I'm you?"

At the confirming nods from both Kaoru and Kenshin, the younger Kaoru's jaw dropped in shock and disbelief. "How?" she asked.

Future Kaoru shrugged, showing that it was as much of a mystery to her as it was to her past self.

Kenshin snickered and reached over to the younger Kaoru and gently closed her mouth. "You can close your mouth now." He said.

The younger Kaoru jerked her head away from his touch and yelled, "Don't touch me!" 

Kenshin recoiled from his contact with a pained look on his face.

At her younger self's violent reaction, Kaoru glared at Kenshin and said, "Battousai. What did you do to me?"

"Why do you automatically assume it was something I did?" Kenshin asked defensively. "And don't call me that." He added.

Future Kaoru grinned evilly at Kenshin and hooked arms with her counterpart. "Why, because I know me, and I know you. You definitely did something." She replied.

He sighed. "It's more complicated than that, but…" he took a deep breath before continuing, "very well, Kaoru. I'll tell you. Let me start from the beginning and fill you in on your new past. I've been living here for the past ten years."

"No way!" The elder Kaoru exclaimed cutting him off before he could barely even begin.

Kenshin glared at her for interrupting. 

"Sorry!" she apologized, looking a bit sheepish. "I can't believe it. He was right, he did track me down right away…silly Kenshin…I should have known." She mumbled to herself under her breath.

As Kenshin opened his mouth to continue he was interrupted again by the younger Kaoru as she latched herself onto the arm of her future self and asked, "Are you really me? Are you really married to Kenshin? Did he tell you he was the Hitokiri Battousai?"

The elder Kaoru looked into the eyes of her younger counterpart and simply answered "yes, of course I am, and of course he did."

Younger Kaoru pouted. "He didn't tell me," she confided to her future half.

The future Kaoru's eyes narrowed as she asked, "didn't tell you what?"

"He didn't tell me about being the Hitokiri Battousai, and we've been engaged since I was 7!" she informed her older self, almost in a way a young girl would tell on a sibling to their mother.

The elder Kaoru's eyes turned to glare at Kenshin as she screamed "You DID THAT!?!" She then proceeded to beat Kenshin over the head repeatedly with a bokken that appeared out of nowhere. "Kenshin you IDIOT! What were you thinking keeping something so important from your WIFE!" she continued as she kept beating him into the ground.

Kenshin raised his arms over his head defending himself from Kaoru's blows as he said, "No, no. It wasn't like that Kaoru! You have to listen to me!" He pleaded. At Kaoru's insistent beating on him, he finally yelled out in desperation, "Your Dad made me do it!"

Future Kaoru paused in her beating and both Kaorus said, "What?" in disbelief.

"Koshijiro made me keep it from her. I didn't want to. He made me promise when I first came here that I wouldn't tell her and that I wouldn't leave and go wandering." Kenshin confessed.

The elder Kaoru chewed on her lower lip in thought while the younger Kaoru once again burst into tears onto her older self's shoulder. Future Kaoru put her arms around herself consolingly and patted her back as she shot another glare at Kenshin. "We're going to my room." She informed him as she began to pull her younger self towards their bedroom door.

"But Kaoru-" Kenshin pleaded as they walked away from him.

Future Kaoru paused at his plead, halting her younger self as well before she exclaimed, "You are so STUPID sometimes Kenshin!" She waited a moment to let her words sink in before saying, "At least now I know why I'm here, we can discuss this later when I'm not so upset" before she continued on towards her room.

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A/N: Wheew!! That was a lot of work! Ok…well that's it for this totally insane chapter. I hope nobody got lost on which Kaoru was saying what. I tried to be specific enough to keep you informed of who was doing and saying what.

So…four chapters in a week…am I a super star goddess first class with no restrictions or what?!! ::pats self on back:: I'm quite proud of myself considering my track record of infrequent updates. O_o;; LOL.

****

Kenji - he didn't travel with Kaoru - neither did Kenshin, its just Kaoru who's in the past. (At least for the time being.) Kaoru was looking for her son when she was transported to the past and that's why she was asking Kenshin where he was when she first arrived. She didn't realize that it wasn't her Kenshin she was talking to. Now that Kenshin is all grown up and living at the dojo, Kaoru couldn't tell the difference as easily as she could when Kenshin was still Battousai. I hope this clears it up for those of you who asked. ;D

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave me a review if you did to let me know. It's all the encouraging comments that keep me going, I'm very grateful to those of you who make it a point to take the time to leave me feedback, even if it's a simple "that's good" or "please update" because I know that people are reading it, and enjoying it.

Till the next chapter!

Bunny ;D


	43. Explanations

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction 

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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A/N: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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The elder Kaoru chewed on her lower lip in thought while the younger Kaoru once again burst into tears onto her older self's shoulder. Future Kaoru put her arms around herself consolingly and patted her back as she shot another glare at Kenshin. "We're going to my room." She informed him as she began to pull her younger self towards their bedroom door.

"But Kaoru-" Kenshin pleaded as they walked away from him.

Future Kaoru paused at his plead, halting her younger self as well before she exclaimed, "You are so STUPID sometimes Kenshin!" She waited a moment to let her words sink in before saying, "At least now I know why I'm here, we can discuss this later when I'm not so upset" before she continued on towards her room.

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Chapter Thirty-Nine – Explanations

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Upon entering the younger Kaoru's room, the elder Kaoru led her younger counterpart to her futon and after unfolding it, laid her down.  Placing a gentle hand on her forehead in a motherly fashion, she let out a big sigh.

"I'm sorry." She said before continuing, "This is all my fault.  If I hadn't ever gone to the past, you wouldn't be going through this right now.  Not that I know completely what you are going through, mind you, but I have a pretty good idea."

The younger Kaoru let out a huff of her own before asking a bit irritably, "can you enlighten me a bit on what relationship you have exactly with Kenshin?"

A bit taken aback from her younger self's continued hostility, the elder Kaoru moved back a bit and removed her hand to twist it in a nervous gesture with her other hand.  She unconsciously bit her lip in deep thought, and then sighed once more before saying, "well, I suppose I should start from where your Kenshin came into my life.  No need to tell you about my own, since it's irrelevant."  She paused to take a deep breath and then plunged in.  "On the day of my wedding in my own time, I was somehow transported 14 years into the past; only to come face to face with my soon to be husband as a teenager with a sword to my throat and no recognition of me whatsoever.  Not realizing immediately what was going on, I said a few things to him…specifically his name, which gave him enough curiosity to spare my life and drag me back to the Inshinshishi hideout." Kaoru paused a moment to let out another sigh as the memories began to consume her and she turned her glance from the now wide-eyed younger Kaoru to the floor before continuing.  "It was at that inn, that I met the woman who was supposed to have been his first wife, and was somehow placed by Kenshin into the role of his wife instead. I was in a very difficult situation.  I was changing the past, and even worse, I couldn't help but fall in love with the younger version of my future husband.  There were distinct differences in him than my Kenshin of course, but deep down, in the parts of him that I love so dearly, he is the same man.  Even worse, Kenshin returned my love and wished to have us married for real.  The war in Kyoto reached a fevered pitch, and as the Shinsengumi burned down the city, Kenshin and I were instructed to flee to a house in the mountains.  We had a brief wedding ceremony on the way there, and proceeded to live in the house as a married couple for about nine months."  Kaoru paused there to take another deep breath, and then meeting her younger self's eyes she continued, "On the day that Kenshin was summoned back to duty, I was transported back to my own time.  A few hours passed before the Kenshin from the past came to my time trying to bring me back with him." At this, the younger Kaoru gasped in disbelief.  Silent tears began to run down her cheeks as her older self continued, "He challenged my Kenshin, claiming that since he had married me first, I belonged with him in the past, not in my own time.  It broke my heart to see him trying to fight himself," she took a ragged breath as her own tears began to slowly spill over her eyes and said, "I stopped them, but at the cost of them both being hurt deeply by the whole encounter.  It wasn't long before the Kenshin from the past left to go back to the war.  That was the last time I saw him until just now." She finished, and let out a final big sigh. 

Sitting up, the younger Kaoru covered her face with both hands and sobbed openly into them.  

Not knowing quite what to do, the elder Kaoru rubbed her younger self's back and said, "I'm sorry you had to find out this way.  You have been married to Kenshin since before you met him. I took that choice away from you, and if you don't love him as I do, then I'm very deeply sorry.  I never even considered the repercussions of my actions and of Kenshin knowing even pieces of his past.  I had the silly notion that for you, it would be exactly the same as it had been for me, meeting him in the streets of Tokyo searching for that damn fake Battousai."  

The younger Kaoru tore her hands away from her face and with flashing eyes cried out to her other self, "No wonder he referred to me as his wife!" Gasping for breath she ranted, "He's always seen me that way.  A _little girl_ version of the woman he fell in love with." She spat.  Then taking a deep breath and calming a bit, she continued on as if mumbling to herself, "This explains so many things…those awful dreams for one…but I…he never bothered to tell me." Getting worked up yet again she continued, "Not even when I was old enough to understand. Not even after father left.  Why would he do such a thing?  He hid it from me!  He deceived me!  He's been lying to me since the day he came to live with us!" She banged her fists down on the floor, outraged at how she had been treated. 

The elder Kaoru cringed at the situation, at a total loss of how to patch things up between her younger self and her first husband.  Attempting to calm her younger self down, Kaoru grasped on to her other self's shoulders and said calmly, "Look at me.  Look into my eyes."  

As the younger girl lifted her eyes to her future self's, both Kaoru's found themselves in a trance like state. Memories started flooding the elder Kaoru's mind, intense visuals and conversations that had taken place.  In just a few minutes, she now had all of her younger self's new memories of the past.  As the last visual faded, she gripped her head and fell backwards onto the floor groaning "Oh My God."  As her head impacted the floor, she drifted out of consciousness.

Startled by her older self falling over the younger Kaoru leaned over to inspect the situation.  She blinked at seeing the elder Kaoru unconscious.  "Uh…Kaoru?" she questioned, feeling utterly ridiculous calling out to herself.  When there was no response after a third try, the younger Kaoru began to panic a bit.  Standing up on wobbly legs, she stumbled over to the doorway and slid open the door while yelling out, "KENSHIN!"

It was only a second before Kenshin was standing in front of the younger Kaoru at the doorway of her bedroom.  "She's unconscious!" she exclaimed to him.  "What should we do?  Is she ok do you think?"

Kenshin's eyes widened before he pushed his way into the room and in two purposeful strides found himself at his first wife's side.  Kneeling down to take her pulse and check her breathing, he said to his Kaoru, "what happened to her?"

Fidgeting behind him, Kaoru said, "I don't know.  One minute we were talking about…" she paused before finally deciding on saying, "stuff. And then the next thing I knew, she was groaning and falling over backwards!" she exclaimed.

Kenshin sighed as he stood up.  "I'll go get some water, hopefully that will wake her up," he said before swiftly exiting the room and heading off to the kitchen.

Taking Kenshin's vacated spot, Kaoru knelt down next to her future self and wondered, 'how can so many horribly confusing things happen in one day?  My God…I thought our love could survive anything…but this?  Married since I was four years old.  Am I nothing more than a replacement of whom Kenshin really wants?' It saddened her to think that way, but she couldn't help herself.  

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This seemed like as good enough as any a place to stop.  I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.  You've certainly been waiting long enough for it. O_o;;

The long and short of it is: these past several months, I've had a lot of major changes in my life.  I've been adjusting new a new way of living and doing things on an unset schedule for my days, which made finding time for something like fanfiction writing extremely difficult.  I've also been caught up with working and making major changes to my own websites, which has taken up a great deal of the time I would have otherwise used to update this story.  Needless to say, I'm not sure when I will have the opportunity to update again, but I can promise that I still have every intention of finishing this story, and that I'm hopeful that now that I have somewhat of a pattern to my days that I will be able to find more time to update this story more regularly.

Please don't forget to review, and also I'll be writing that 1000 reviews party soon as well, so if you want to participate, don't forget to let me know.

Lots of love, 

bunny


	44. Apologies, Confessions and Ramifications

How the Past can Change

A K&K Rurouni Kenshin Romance FanFiction

by: bunny ;D

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki, with the manga and anime rights belonging to Jump Comics and Sony Entertainment, respectively. I do not own and did not create the series or its characters...I'm just a fan, and I have no money anyways, so NO SUING ME!! :D

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A/N: This story is altering the original story of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X. It also has some OOCness, (especially with Battousai.) If you don't like that idea, or can't handle it…I would advise you not to read this fic. If you are a hard-core Tomoe and Kenshin forever kind of person, I would advise you to not read this fic. Don't get me wrong, I like Tomoe, this is just a different story ok?

Ja ne,

Bunny ;D

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It was only a second before Kenshin was standing in front of the younger Kaoru at the doorway of her bedroom. "She's unconscious!" she exclaimed to him. "What should we do? Is she ok do you think?"

Kenshin's eyes widened before he pushed his way into the room and in two purposeful strides found himself at his first wife's side. Kneeling down to take her pulse and check her breathing, he said to his Kaoru, "what happened to her?"

Fidgeting behind him, Kaoru said, "I don't know. One minute we were talking about…" she paused before finally deciding on saying, "stuff. And then the next thing I knew, she was groaning and falling over backwards!" she exclaimed.

Kenshin sighed as he stood up. "I'll go get some water, hopefully that will wake her up," he said before swiftly exiting the room and heading off to the kitchen.

Taking Kenshin's vacated spot, Kaoru knelt down next to her future self and wondered, 'how can so many horribly confusing things happen in one day? My God…I thought our love could survive anything…but this? Married since I was four years old. Am I nothing more than a replacement of whom Kenshin really wants?' It saddened her to think that way, but she couldn't help herself.

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Chapter Forty – Apologies, Confessions and Ramifications

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Despondent, young Kaoru stepped out of her room. She took a deep breath of the fresh air and dragged her heels along the floorboards of the porch before dropping down gracelessly to settle on the steps at the edge of the porch. Once settled, she took a moment to glance behind her and watch her "husband" as he attended to soothing the brow of her future self with a watered clothe in attempts to wake her. He was grimacing, yet meticulously carrying out his task with gentle hands. Kaoru turned her attention back to the courtyard and placing her elbow on her knee, propped her chin in her hand and gave a deep sigh. 'What am I going to do now?' she wondered blankly. She felt so removed from this whole insane situation she suddenly found her self in. Almost as if she was an outsider looking in on herself, as though her emotions had completely shut down in an attempt to protect her. Kenshin and her…were married. For the past 12 years. The whole idea of it was ludicrous. Shameful even. And this whole traveling to the past and future issue really had her mind boggled. If she hadn't seen the proof of it herself, she would never have believed it. 'I wonder if Dad knew…' she found herself pondering absently. She let out a rather undignified snort before concluding that her father couldn't possibly have known all this time travel married ever since she was four drivel. He would have beat Kenshin to a bloody pulp, Hitokiri Battousai or not. Picturing her father's rampage she giggled before figuring that perhaps it would have been more likely that her father would have simply committed Kenshin to an insane asylum.

Giving up on the older Kaoru waking soon, Kenshin left her side and wandered out onto the porch. His Kaoru had been sitting there sighing and giggling for a few minutes and he hoped that perhaps she was feeling better after talking with her future self. Reaching the edge of the porch, he jumped to the ground level and turned towards the young Kaoru with a hesitant smile. "You seem to be feeling a bit better than earlier." He noted to her.

Not being able to help herself from showing her emotions, Kaoru felt her eyes narrow a bit before she let out a non-committal "hmm," in reply to Kenshin's statement.

Noticing her look Kenshin frowned and let out a deep sigh of resignation. 'I should have known better.' He thought to himself. 'Nothing is ever easy with Kaoru, especially when you are in the wrong. Or even if you aren't wrong and she thinks you are.' He suppressed a chuckle at thought, knowing that if Kaoru thought he thought this situation was even remotely amusing he would never hear the end of it. He remembered all too well though, his own pains from his encounter with his future self, and the jealousy of his future self's relationship with the future Kaoru. And he took comfort in that, that if nothing else, he could relate to how she felt. He gave her an encouraging smile before he sat down next to her and gave her knee an affectionate pat. "Don't worry Kaoru-dono, everything will be fine." He assured.

Young Kaoru turned her whole body in Kenshin's direction and gave him a look that said 'you are an idiot.' "Everything will be fine for _you_, maybe." She said, "but as for me…my whole life has just fallen apart around me." She motioned to the ground around her with her arms as if to convey how her life was going.

Kenshin took in a deep breath and let it all out in a big whoosh. "Well…that may be so. And I know, it's not worth much, but for what it's worth," he paused and turned his whole body in her direction and looked deep into her eyes before continuing, "for what it's worth Kaoru, I'm sorry. I'm so very desperately sorry."

"Sorry for what Kenshin?" she asked in a soft voice, so soft that if he hadn't had his complete undivided attention on her, he would have missed it.

"For…for everything." He replied. "For my past, for my decisions, for everything I've ever done that has hurt you. I'm sorry, because I would never want to hurt you Kaoru. Never."

Kaoru closed her eyes for a moment trying to capture the few tears leaking out of her eyes and taking in what he was saying. "Why Kenshin? Why did you come here? I have to know why you came here." She pleaded.

"Because…I…I had to see you." He replied honestly.

"Then…after you saw me, why did you stay?" she wondered.

"Because…I'm selfish." He answered, ashamed of himself.

Kaoru's eyes opened wide in shock at his confession. She blinked at him a few times, washing the tears from her eyes. "But…I'm just a little girl. I'm not the woman you married. What could you have possibly wanted with _me_? It doesn't make any sense, Kenshin." She babbled.

"No your not." Kenshin argued.

"Yes I am! You've always seen me as a little girl, at least until very recently. But that's just because now I'm just a convenient replacement for the real woman you love! The one you can't have because she doesn't live in this time!" Young Kaoru said pointing her finger viscously in the direction of her unconscious future self.

Kenshin's eyes widened in utter disbelief at her passionate words, "no Kaoru! It's not true. That's not true!" he denied.

"Lies! Kenshin! It's all lies with you! That's all you've ever told me since you came to live here with us!" She lifted up her right pointer finger, tapped it off with her left one and began, "You lied to me when you said you would marry me, because we were already married!" She lifted her middle finger and tapped it as well with her left pointer finger, as if continuing on her list and said, "you lied to me when you told me _those dreams_ were just dreams, because they really happened!" She lifted up her ring finger, tapped it too and continuing with her rant said, "you lied to me when you said everything would be ok with Dad because surely you must have KNOWN that he was going to die!" She held up her pinky finger, tapped it off and proceeded through her list without letup saying, "you lied to be about _the Hitokiri Battousai_!" she fumed and gave him a fierce glare over that point before realizing she had run out of fingers so she held up her thumb and tapping it too yelled, "BUT WORST OF ALL HIMURA KENSHIN" she paused to poke her finger into his chest, "IS THAT YOU LIED TO ME WHEN YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVE ME, BECAUSE YOU DON'T LOVE **_ME_**, YOU LOVE **_HER_**" she screamed as she looked towards her bedroom and gestured with her whole arm in the elder Kaoru's direction. Dumbfounded Kenshin followed her gesture to look at the elder Kaoru who was now sitting up in Kaoru's room with both hands covering her mouth, wide eyes and a look of horror on her face. Shocked, Kenshin turned back to his own Kaoru but before he could get a word in, she had bolted to her feet and ran down the porch to her father's room where she slid open the paper door and then stepping inside turned and slammed it shut, almost knocking it out of the frame.

At a complete loss of what to do Kenshin stood up slowly and turned toward the elder Kaoru from the future, who now had silent tears streaming down her face and said dejectedly, "now what do I do?"

Wiping the tears from her face and eyes, future Kaoru sniffed and then gave her younger husband a wry look. "Well, you've certainly botched things up this time." She commented dryly.

Kenshin gave her a withering look and said, "I know."

"She did have some good points you know." Kaoru added.

"I know." Kenshin agreed with a grimace.

"Is it true though?" she asked.

"Is what true?" he questioned.

"What she said…about…about us." She clarified.

Kenshin frowned at her, thinking it was a silly question. "You know I love you Kaoru. I will always love you…insanely so. I'm mad about you. You know that."

Kaoru shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Kenshin no baka." She said. Standing up, she made her way out of the room and crossed the few feet separating them on the porch and putting her arms around him she placed her head on his shoulder and said, "Did you ever let me go Kenshin? Did you ever let us go?"

Unconsciously, Kenshin returned Kaoru's embrace and furrowed his eyebrows in thought for a few minutes. Finally, he muttered, "I'm not sure I understand what you are asking me, love."

Kaoru bit her lip from smiling somehow knowing that would be his response. "What I mean is…when you first came to this home, in your own time…did you come here to see me, or did you come here to see her?" she asked. "Were you hoping she would fill the void I left, or were you simply anxious to get to know your own Kaoru?" She paused a moment to let that sink in for him and then she finished by saying, "when you tell _her_ that you love her, is it because you love _her_ or because you love me?"

Kenshin stiffened at her comment, having never even considered thinking in those terms before. 'She doesn't believe that I love her for her, only because I loved her in my past…' he wondered. 'Is it true, though?' he asked himself. It only took a few brief seconds of Kenshin thinking about his Kaoru, and the Kaoru he currently held in his arms before he knew for sure. 'No. No, I love them both, but I love them both. I don't love my Kaoru simply because she is the same person as the woman I married from the future. No, I love her for herself, and all the minor differences she has from my beautiful bride. She is so very precious to me, and I have known her for so much longer.' He shook his head in disbelief. 'How could she have ever thought that?' he wondered. 'After everything we've been through, that…' he shook his head again as his mind buzzed with all the reasons why she should know better.

Turning his head down a bit, Kenshin placed a gentle kiss on future Kaoru's forehead and dropping his arms from around her he stepped back, ending their embrace. He gave her a sad smile and reaching out to grab a slip of her hair said, "Kaoru, thank you for coming here. If it weren't for you, I don't know what would have happened to us. I will always love you, and our time together will always have a special place in my heart. But I let go of the idea of the two of us in our mountain cabin a very long time ago. All it took was one look at her, and I could think of nothing else but building a future here for the two of us. We will always be together, you and I, just not exactly _you_ and _I_." He finished with a grin.

Kaoru gave Kenshin a glorious smile and said, "I know."

"I'm going to fix things, and make them right again. Somehow." He assured her.

"You had better!" she scolded. "Because otherwise, you know I will have to come back!"

As Kaoru once again began to disappear in front of him, this time he didn't protest, or resist. Instead he just chuckled and said, "Take care of me and our son. Enjoy your life. Thank you for saving mine."

"Always." She whispered just before she left completely.

So preoccupied with future Kaoru's departure was he, that he didn't notice his own Kaoru standing off to the side watching the whole scene until future Kaoru had left completely. A bit surprised he blurted, "hi."

"I…" Kaoru began, and then stopping herself, she closed her eyes as if in tremendous pain. "I heard what you said." She rushed out. "About me." She added nervously.

Kenshin nodded and tried very hard not to get his hopes up.

"I'm still mad at you." She offered.

He winced, as if she had stabbed him. "I'm sorry Kaoru-dono. If you want me to, I'll leave. I…I can give you your space…some time maybe. I know I hurt you very much from all this, and I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am. I never wanted to hurt you. I promised myself I would never hurt you because I wanted to be better than my idiot future self, but it seems that with all my knowledge, I'm the one that was really the idiot. I never-"

Kaoru held her hand up stopping Kenshin's speech. "I don't want to talk about it anymore right now and you don't need to leave either. It would only make things worse. I will need some time though. Don't expect things to be the way they've been, Kenshin. This changes a lot of things. I feel like I barely know you, so I'm going to need to get to know you all over again, husband or not. I will…let you know when I'm ready to discuss this again." She finished.

"Ok Kaoru-dono." He agreed, just happy that she didn't send him away and that she was at least talking to him.

"Don't call me that. It's a stupid way to address your wife." She snapped before she walked past him and into her bedroom to retire for the night.

A moment later after Kaoru had slid the door closed to her room, Kenshin stepped up to the door and said, "I'm sorry…Kaoru," before he turned away and headed to his own bedroom for a long sleepless night.

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That ends chapter 40. throws confetti Whoo-hoo! Wow…forty chapters. I never thought this story would get this far, really. It sure has grown. Oo;;

In any case…for those of you still reading; I'm sorry again for the slow update. I'm hoping to work some more on the next chapter sometime this next week, and start posting more frequently so I can finish this story already! I mean honestly…I've been working on it for 3 years. We are getting close to the end though. It's been a long hard road to get here. There are only a few ends to tie up.

Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing. I can't begin to express my gratitude for all your helpful comments and just general encouragements, and silliness. Yes, love the silliness and the babbling. It's really neat to get a bit of insight into the readers. I LOVE IT! It's nice just to know that people are reading the story and enjoying it. There were soooo many really awesome reviews for the last chapter, and I wish I could reply to you all personally, but then I would be making this a lot longer. O.O Feel free to email me too. I love to chat. A Big Hug to everybody for making me so happy with all your support! And I've been missing all you guys!

Till the next chapter,

Bunny


	45. You Will Pay

How the Past can Change

By: Bunny

A Rurouni Kenshin alternate reality/what if Kenshin and Kaoru romance.

Disclaimer: The RK characters do NOT belong to me.

Warning: This story drastically alters the RK storyline, so beware of changes. There may at times be OOC and alterations of the RK story, as you know it.

------------------------------

He winced, as if she had stabbed him. "I'm sorry Kaoru-dono. If you want me to, I'll leave. I…I can give you your space…some time maybe. I know I hurt you very much from all this, and I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am. I never wanted to hurt you. I promised myself I would never hurt you because I wanted to be better than my idiot future self, but it seems that with all my knowledge, I'm the one that was really the idiot. I never-"

Kaoru held her hand up stopping Kenshin's speech. "I don't want to talk about it anymore right now and you don't need to leave either. It would only make things worse. I will need some time though. Don't expect things to be the way they've been, Kenshin. This changes a lot of things. I feel like I barely know you, so I'm going to need to get to know you all over again, husband or not. I will…let you know when I'm ready to discuss this again," she finished.

"Ok Kaoru-dono," he agreed, just happy that she didn't send him away and that she was at least talking to him.

"Don't call me that. It's a stupid way to address your wife," she snapped before she walked past him and into her bedroom to retire for the night.

A moment later after Kaoru had slid the door closed to her room, Kenshin stepped up to the door and said, "I'm sorry…Kaoru," before he turned away and headed to his own bedroom for a long sleepless night.

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Chapter Fourty-One – You Will Pay

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The next morning, Kaoru woke with a start. Sitting up on her futon, she gasped for breath. 'Was I having some sort of nightmare?' she wondered to herself. She bent up her knees and rested her elbows on them before dropping her head to be supported in her hands. 'What was I dreaming about?' she asked herself. She recalled seeing her future self and understanding why she had those nightmares of Kenshin in the war since he had come to live with them, but "that was real, wasn't it?" she whispered to aloud. She lifted up her head and glanced around her room, looking for some sort of reassurance that it was not all her imagination, that last nights events had really taken place. "Not that I would mind, had they been fake," she grumbled as she stood up and rolled up her futon. "Kenshin no baka," she grumped.

She made her way to her chest and picked out one of her prettiest kimonos, deciding to go into town to make some purchases today. She dressed slowly and methodically, going over once again everything that had happened to her recently. Shaking her head in sadness at her situation, she held back the tears trying to escape her eyes. "That won't do you any good, Kaoru!" she told herself. Then letting out a great big sigh, she stomped her foot on the ground in utter frustration and agony. "MOU! How am I supposed to live with him now!" she exclaimed to the wall. Not getting any support or consolation from the wall, not that she was really expecting it although stranger things _had_ happened to her in her life, she spun on her heel and made her way out of her room, ready to start her day.

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Kenshin woke early, well before the sun had come up, as was his usual routine. He dressed quickly in the cool morning air, and made his way out of his room to do his usual parameter check of the property. Sitting in the very tree he used to observe Kaoru from before he met Koshijiro, he watched the sun rise up over the mountains, kissing the tops of the trees in the forest.

"Today will be a beautiful day, that it will," he murmured to himself. "Better go and check on Kaoru before she wakes and finds no breakfast, that I should," he said to himself as he stood and jumped back to the ground.

He walked quietly towards Kaoru's room and upon reaching the outer porch, heard her yelling about how she was supposed to live with "him."

Ashamed, Kenshin quietly left the area and moved into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Just a moment later, Kaoru slid the sliding door to her room so quickly that it made a "clack" against the doorframe. "Mou!" she exclaimed again to the yard beyond the house. Huffing out her frustrations under her breath, she stomped around the porch to the kitchen and let herself in the door, though much less violently.

"Good morning, Kenshin!" she greeted, without even looking at him.

Kenshin glanced towards Kaoru when she came in and watched her kneel down at the table. She did not even look at him, he observed. 'This is all your fault!' he scolded himself. Grabbing some pickled vegetables from the counter, he placed them on the table for Kaoru to eat while he prepared the miso and eggs.

"Good morning, Kaoru," he said softly, hoping to catch her eyes.

Kaoru did not disappoint and looked up when he placed the vegetables in front of her. Immediately, he sensed her insecurities and her sadness. He tried to reassure her through the warmth in his own eyes, but she looked away just as quickly as she had looked up. Kenshin closed his eyes in sadness and tried to regroup. 'You can't hope to fix this mess you've made overnight, or with just one look!' he reminded himself.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"I slept well enough," Kaoru answered.

"Ah," Kenshin said, not sure what else to say, but thankfully Kaoru had other plans.

"I would like to go into town today to do some shopping," Kaoru informed him.

"Ah, is that why you are dressed so nicely this morning?" Kenshin asked politely.

"Un," Kaoru affirmed.

Kenshin turned around to look at her as she popped another pickled vegetable in her mouth. Noticing that he was looking in her direction, Kaoru looked up at him for the second time that day. He looked quite pitiful.

'I'm such a sucker for him,' Kaoru thought before she asked, "Would you like to come with me?"

Kenshin nearly fell over himself in surprise and delight, "yes, yes, I would love to go with you!" He gave her a beaming smile in his happiness. 'Maybe, all is not lost,' he thought.

Kaoru watched Kenshin's entire demeanor change from sadness to happiness at her simple invitation and was a bit shocked, but also comforted at his reaction. 'Can't make him think he's got it too easy,' she told herself.

"Bring your wallet, you're paying," she added saucily.

Kenshin laughed outright as he placed the hot miso and eggs down on the table for both of them and took his place across from her. "Whatever you like, Kaoru, it's yours," he answered easily.

Kaoru cracked a small smile at him. "That's good, because you're going to _pay,_" she emphasized before taking a sip of her hot miso.

Kenshin just sat there and smiled at her for a minute, happy that she was teasing him. It was better than what he was expecting after hearing her yelling about him that morning in her room. Before he started to eat his breakfast, he reached his hand across the table to her and grasped her free hand, "_anything_ you want Kaoru, it's yours," he said again.

Kaoru looked up at him with wide eyes and snatched her hand away. "We'll see," she replied as she gave him a suspicious look.

-----------------------------

An hour or so later, Kenshin found himself in the first shop Kaoru wanted to visit that day. She was wandering around the store, fingering the material of different kimonos that caught her eye. He followed her figure as she flitted around the shop, caressing some of the kimonos almost lovingly and rubbing other ones between her fingers, as if trying to test if the material was strong or not.

After about half and hour of looking through them, she finally approached him in the corner of the shop where he stood, waiting. Taking his hand she led him through the shop and finally, they stopped where there were a few kimonos she had been looking at laid out. Kaoru pointed to them, and asked, "What do you think?"

Kenshin looked at the kimonos carefully for a few minutes. There were two very nice ones that appeared to be silk, one was pink and the other was a light blue. They both had very beautiful designs in white with some sort of silvery shimmer around the edges of the designs. Next to that, were two cotton kimonos, similar to the one she was currently wearing. He grabbed the hem of one of them and rubbed the fabric as he had seen Kaoru doing and was impressed with the strength he felt in the fabric. This was a high quality fabric indeed! Kaoru would even be able to fight in such a strong fabric if necessary, which probably explained why Kaoru had been feeling the material of all the kimonos earlier. Kenshin turned to look at her, impressed with her sense in shopping. "I think they are all very well chosen," he told her.

Kaoru gave him a glare, "of course you think that!"

Kenshin frowned in confusion.

"I wanted to know which ones you thought would look the best on me!" Kaoru explained.

Kenshin looked from Kaoru back to the kimonos and then from the kimonos back to Kaoru. Kaoru began stepping closer to him, getting angrier by the second.

Kenshin stepped back and put his hands up in defense, "but Kaoru-dono I think that you should get all of them, that I should!" he told her in a bit of a panic.

"Don't call me that!" she said as she began to advance faster still towards him. "I'm no 'Miss,'" she added.

Kenshin could sense that he was quickly being backed into a corner. Something had to be done. Grabbing Kaoru around her waist, he pulled her towards him, completely closing the distance between their bodies and whispered softly into her ear, "no, you are not; forgive this unworthy one for falling into old habits."

Kaoru gasped in shock at Kenshin treating her so intimately in public. Embarrassed at the possibility of others seeing them, she stayed silent as her face flamed.

"Would you prefer for me to address you as my beloved?" Kenshin murmured over the shell of her ear. She shivered at the feel of his hot breath in such a sensitive area and was only able to barely breath out a defeated, "mou."

Kenshin chuckled at her as he released her. He walked past her up to the counter where the owner of the shop stood, gaping at the two of them openly.

"Good morning Madam, would you please package these four beautiful kimonos up for my wife?" he asked her.

Started, the woman glanced from Kenshin to Kaoru and then to the kimonos before saying, "right away, Sir," and making her way to the kimonos to gather them up to be wrapped.

Kaoru recovered from her embarrassment after noticing that thankfully the only person around was the owner of the shop. She had known the woman for years and shared many confidences with her while purchasing kimonos, and knew that she wasn't one to spread news like this around. She hesitantly made her way to the counter to collect her new purchases while Kenshin handed the woman the money to pay for them.

"When did you get married?" the woman inquired, looking directly at Kaoru.

Kaoru blushed again, as she looked at Kenshin's reaction from the corner of her eyes. He was standing there, nonchalant, not bothered in the slightest that the woman now knew that they were married.

'Well, if he can treat it so casually, then so can I!' Kaoru determined. "Hmm? You mean, when did I get married to Kenshin?" Kaoru asked the woman trying to be coy.

"Yes, my dear, I wish you had told me so I could have sent you a wedding present!" the woman exclaimed, warming up to the idea of the two in her store being husband and wife.

Kaoru shrugged, "we've been married forever."

The woman blinked at Kaoru in confusion, "whatever do you mean dear?"

Kenshin coughed a bit spasmodically and Kaoru grinned with her success at making him uncomfortable. 'That's what you get!' she thought to him in triumph.

"Oh, well, we've been officially married since I was but a little girl," Kaoru explained.

"You have!" the woman exclaimed, "Well, why didn't you ever tell me this before?"

Kaoru shrugged her shoulders again, "I suppose it just slipped my mind."

"Oh well dear, I'll send you out a special wedding package to celebrate my finding out about your marriage anyways, I'm so happy for you dear," the woman said as she shooed them out of the shop, most probably eager to get about deciding what kind of present she wanted to give them.

As soon as they exited the shop and were back on the main road, Kaoru placed all four of her packages in Kenshin's arms and said, "Well, there is still much to do! I hope you have plenty of money, Kenshin."

"Ah," Kenshin assured her as he bewilderingly followed Kaoru as she weaved her way through the others walking on the road. 'She took that rather well,' he thought.

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Three hours, and several packages later, Kenshin and Kaoru had just left the ribbon store. Kaoru had purchased quite a few new ribbons to match her new kimonos and some others to replace older ones that were beginning to fray and she was feeling quite satisfied with all the purchases she had made that day.

'I'm feeling better about this whole mess already,' Kaoru thought. She smiled at Kenshin as he did a balancing act to hold all of her goods. 'Knowing we are married certainly has its advantages,' she concluded as she took in all of the many packages Kenshin was struggling to hold. Feeling pity for him, she grabbed a few off the top to lighten his load and said, "there's nothing like shopping for new things to make you feel better, right Kenshin?"

"Ah," Kenshin said, mechanically. He knew better than to say anything else to a statement like that, such as 'my wallet sure is lighter' or 'my arms are getting tired,' or 'I'm starving, can we please eat already?'

It seemed though that Kaoru was reading his mind as she lifted a couple more of the packages from his arms into her own and smiling at him said, "let's go get some lunch at Tae's, my treat!"

"Great! I'm starving!" Kenshin said.

Kaoru smiled at him knowingly as she turned and lead the way towards the Akebeko.

Sensing trouble on the road, Kenshin paused and looked around. He observed a young boy take a wallet from and old man on the road with his grandson while the grandson was asking for some toy or other. Hearing the old man say he would buy the toy for the grandson, the young boy that had taken the wallet placed it in the hand of the grandson and walked away from them, towards where Kenshin was standing. Kenshin smiled at the young boy as he approached and said, "That was good of you to return the wallet."

"Oh yeah?" the young boy said, "Well, who asked you? You'll be next, you got that?" the kid said.

Before Kenshin could form a reply to the young boy, Kaoru had stomped back to him, noting he had stopped. Grabbing him by his ponytail and dragging him towards the restaurant said, "Kenshin, keep up with me, would you? I thought you said you were starving? Do you want me to treat you or not?"

He watched the young boy snicker at his predicament and repressed a sigh of frustration over Kaoru's poor timing. 'Another day, another time, perhaps,' he thought.

"Mou, Kenshin are you even listening to me?" Kaoru said, breaking into his thoughts.

"Ah," Kenshin answered.

"What did I say?" she asked.

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Well, that does it for chapter 41. I know it's been forever since I updated and you all probably thought I had completely dropped off the face of the planet. No, not going to get rid of me just yet. I've just been going through some stuff and have a lot of other responsibilities as well, so…I didn't have much time for this story. I'm very sorry, my deepest regrets, especially to all those that have been with me since the beginning and all those that have been bugging me to update, because I know you are a true fan of this work and I only wish for you to enjoy it. Hopefully I will be able to get this story finished before the end of this year!


	46. Things Change

**How the Past can Change**

By: Bunny

A Rurouni Kenshin alternate reality/what if Kenshin and Kaoru romance.

Disclaimer: The RK characters do NOT belong to me.

Warning: This story drastically alters the RK storyline, so beware of changes. There may at times be OOC and alterations of the RK story, as you know it.

* * *

Sensing trouble on the road, Kenshin paused and looked around. He observed a young boy take a wallet from and old man on the road with his grandson while the grandson was asking for some toy or other. Hearing the old man say he would buy the toy for the grandson, the young boy that had taken the wallet placed it in the hand of the grandson and walked away from them, towards where Kenshin was standing. Kenshin smiled at the young boy as he approached and said, "That was good of you to return the wallet."

"Oh yeah?" the young boy said, "Well, who asked you? You'll be next, you got that?" the kid said.

Before Kenshin could form a reply to the young boy, Kaoru had stomped back to him, noting he had stopped. Grabbing him by his ponytail and dragging him towards the restaurant said, "Kenshin, keep up with me, would you? I thought you said you were starving? Do you want me to treat you or not?"

He watched the young boy snicker at his predicament and repressed a sigh of frustration over Kaoru's poor timing. 'Another day, another time, perhaps,' he thought.

"Mou, Kenshin are you even listening to me?" Kaoru said, breaking into his thoughts.

"Ah," Kenshin answered.

"What did I say?" she asked.

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Two – Things Change**

* * *

Kenshin and Kaoru, having completely sated their appetites at the Akebeko were making their way back to the dojo at a slow pace. During the mess with the fake Hitokiri Battousai all their students had been forced to quit, which had broken Kaoru's heart, but left the two of them more time to spend together. It did hurt their wallet, that was for sure, but what Kaoru didn't know was that Kenshin had been busy amassing a bit of a fortune since her future self had left him. Yes, in fact, the government had paid him quite a bit of money both for his efforts during the war, and for his continued missions he'd done since then, to keep the Meiji government in power. Kenshin had reservations aplenty for being compensated monetarily for his bloodshed, but he'd taken it for Kaoru's sake. He was a married man, eventually, he hoped to have a family with his wife, and he needed to be able to provide for them. So, he took the money. He'd tell Kaoru when the time was right. Which wasn't right now while she was fuming mad at him and trying to punish him for keeping a promise her father had forced him to keep.

Now, with all that'd happened, retrospect was slapping him in the face. He now admitted, to himself anyways, that he probably should have just told Kaoru the truth years ago and made her promise not to tell her father he'd told her. It had been a lapse in judgment, thinking somehow that keeping Kaoru's father happy was more important that forming an established, trusting relationship with his Kaoru. In the end, it was Kaoru that really mattered, not the blessing of her father. At the time, Kenshin had thought that Koshijiro's trust was very important, and it was, but he probably wouldn't have had problems making Kaoru keep his secret. And Kaoru – well, she wouldn't be so upset with him right now. And stuck. He'd done exactly what he hadn't wanted to do – make Kaoru feel bound to him when she didn't want to be.

It didn't matter that she'd told him not to leave. It didn't matter that not that long ago she'd confided that he was her favorite person. It didn't matter that future Kaoru had visited to alleviate part of Kaoru's negative emotions regarding the whole situation. Kenshin felt like he'd trapped her. Married since she was four years old, that was a hard pill to swallow, no matter how you sliced it. It was on the official records, there was no getting around it. He was hoping by the time it was time to break his Kaoru the news, that she would be wanting to marry him, for real – as an adult woman, but that opportunity had been taken away. She'd had to find out everything by necessity and not exactly on his terms, or by his timeline. Although, admittedly, he hadn't counted on blurting it out in front of her while punishing a fake battousai for messing around with his woman.

Despite all that, she'd kept him. She hadn't sent him away, she was even being rather nice to him, considering. It just made him love her more. His sweet Kaoru, she was such a beautiful person. Somehow, he was going to make this up to her. He was going to be the best husband he could be. He would make her happy; he would do everything she asked of him. He owed her, and…she was his happiness. He wanted to be her happiness too. At least that much, hadn't changed.

As they were making their way across the bridge, Kenshin felt it. It was the young boy that he'd seen earlier that afternoon; he would recognize that fiery youthful kit anywhere. 'He must be here to take my wallet this time!' Kenshin thought with amusement. He was happy that Kaoru had taken it upon herself to empty the majority of the generous amount of funds he'd brought with him that day on her spending. He'd allow it, the boy to take it after all. Maybe he'd somehow be able to help the poor kid. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Kenshin felt the absence of his wallet being taken away. Kenshin hid a smile, which quickly became confusion.

Kaoru, also somehow having sensed what happened had pounced the poor boy into the bridge's floorboards and snatched the wallet back!

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Kaoru yelled at the boy.

Sitting upon the lad, she looked back at the startled form of her husband.

"This kid's a pickpocket! Look Kenshin, he took your wallet!" she exclaimed.

Dumbfounded, Kenshin blinked. Well, he certainly wasn't expecting _that_ to happen.

"Hey UGLY, get offa me!" the young boy yelled to Kaoru.

In an instant Kaoru was shaking the young boy by his collar, "UGLY? Are you blind in one eye and can't see out of the other, you little brat!"

Before the boy could infuriate Kaoru further, Kenshin stepped into the fray.

"Now, Kaoru, it was stolen fair and square, so stolen it is, here you go child," Kenshin said as he took his wallet from Kaoru's fingers and placed it back into the hand of the young boy.

Turning back towards the Kamiya dojo, Kenshin called back, "Let's get back home."

"Wait a minute, Kenshin!" Kaoru protested as she swiftly got up and followed after Kenshin's retreating form.

A second later, Kenshin was dodging to the side of what would have been direct impact by the young boy. Startled, the boy changed his direction and skidded to a stop in front of Kenshin.

"I'm not a child!" he protested as he threw Kenshin's wallet back at him.

Kenshin deftly caught his wallet and gave the young boy an assessing look. That direction change at top speed and halt the boy had maneuvered was pretty good.

"I'm Yahiko Myojin of a long line of Tokyo samurai! And I ain't so bad off that I need pity from the likes of you!" the young boy declared.

Kenshin hid a smile, knowing somehow that Yahiko wouldn't take kindly to that either. He didn't want to provoke him further; he was a young samurai in the making after all. Kenshin knew all too well how prideful a young man could be. It had led him off to the war and away from Hiko-sama, his teacher.

"Very well, you look like a child, but you have the heart of an adult. Our apologies for underestimating you," Kenshin placated.

"Feh!" Yahiko exclaimed before running off.

"RUDE!" Kaoru yelled after him.

Yahiko merely turned back towards Kaoru and stuck his tongue out at her.

"Cheeky little brat," Kaoru grumbled as she turned back in the direction of home.

"You know," Kenshin said as he fell into step with his wife, "In another era, that kid really would have been a fine samurai."

Kaoru gave Kenshin a sidelong glance of bright blue eyes filled with understanding, "I saw it too, Kenshin."

"You're a good teacher," Kenshin complimented.

"Hmmm," Kaoru hummed, deciding to give no further comment.

* * *

Returning back to the dojo, the young couple separated, Kaoru retreating to her room with her new packages, and Kenshin heading off to cut firewood.

Kaoru carefully unwrapped each parcel, smiling in contentment at her new wares. It was awfully nice of Kenshin to buy all this for her. Honestly, it was much more than she'd expected. Having concocted the idea that morning to have Kenshin pay for her shopping trip, she'd imagined getting a kimono, and maybe a ribbon out of the deal, but her husband's pocket had been surprisingly deep, and his generosity was apparently very great. Despite feeling a small twinge for being so spoiled in one day, she felt like she had got to know a side of Kenshin she'd never known before. He wasn't just being nice to her to make up for what had happened to them, he was genuinely happy to provide nice things for her, namely, all that she wanted, which was considerably more than she'd asked for.

What was even more surprising though, had been the way he'd dealt with the bratty little pickpocket they'd encountered on the way home. Kenshin had always treated her as an equal, though really she had thought of him as a kid when he'd arrived at the dojo. Sure he was an older kid, but he'd still been a kid, just like her. In her mind, it had just been them being kids, but really, older kids didn't usually treat younger ones with the respect he always gave her. He really had been rather young back then though, thinking about how he looked much more like a man now than the boy she'd first met was a bit startling. Kaoru hadn't ever really paid that much attention to Kenshin's aging; she'd been more occupied with catching up with him so they could get married. Which…hadn't mattered since they were technically married already anyways. Which…explained why Kenshin probably never really viewed her as, nor treated her as a child, he had viewed her as his wife from day one. Kaoru scowled, and then let out a defeated sigh. It would have been worse if he HAD treated her like a child all these years; at least he had been honest in his actions, despite keeping secrets from her. Still, she did learn today that Kenshin, that is, her adult husband Kenshin, was decidedly good with children. Not that she didn't know he did very well with really young ones like Ayame and Suzume, but he also apparently did very well with adolescents – prideful, needing a lot of help because they were obviously messed up ones at that. He would make a good father someday…and that was where she was going to leave that thought! Kaoru shook her head, vanishing away the very thought of having kids. She was much too young for that!

Putting away the last of her newly acquired goods, she made her way out of her room and sat on the porch to watch the sunset. She could hear Kenshin puttering around the yard, stacking up logs of wood for their cooking and bathing needs. He did take care of her, didn't he? She'd taken it for granted all these years, hadn't she? Having Kenshin living there, and the role he'd easily taken to of doing things like chopping wood, preparing her bath, doing the laundry, and cooking for her. Not to mention all the training and assistance he'd provided with teaching at the dojo. Now that she was seeing Kenshin in a new light, he had been acting as her husband all this time. Taking care of her, of her property, learning how to teach Kamiya Kasshin style so he could help her with her work, training her diligently so she could improve. She had to begrudgingly admit he'd also won the approval of her father, despite their age difference. The only husbandly thing he hadn't done was sleep with her, and that probably had largely to do with her father and how he would have likely skinned him alive for even thinking such a thing.

Kaoru suppressed a blush as her thoughts traveled to the short time they'd had together after her father had left and they had been sleeping together. He had not protested. Not once, and no wonder, Kaoru realized now it had really been okay. Here, she'd thought she'd been so sneaky and seductive, enticing him to want her, to break the rules, and he'd just been waiting for it all this time anyways. She felt pretty silly, and embarrassed if she was honest. Kenshin no baka. Why couldn't he have just told her? Even better, why didn't he just ask her to marry him as soon as her body had matured when she'd hit fourteen, or fifteen even if he was trying to play it safe?

Remembering Kenshin's excuse though, made her stop and rethink that. Had her father been preventing it all this time? Had he known all along Kenshin really did want to marry her? Or had Kenshin been too afraid to approach the subject with her father with so great of an age difference? Well, thinking about it, her father had always kept an eye on the two of them, so maybe he did think Kenshin's interest in her was real. However…even if her father had told him not to tell her about being battousai, why hadn't Kenshin just told her anyways? Hadn't they been best friends? Didn't he trust her to keep a secret from her father?

* * *

A/N: Okay…confession time from Bunny…I wrote this chapter last November. DIES. I know! I'm really sorry everybody because I wrote this all out, and edited it and everything and then completely forgot about it. I don't know if I was planning on finishing the story completely before I bothered to post anymore of it or what my thinking had been, but I deeply apologize! I stumbled upon this chapter when I went into my folder for this fanfic to start working on it again and couldn't believe that it was already written and edited and ready to post. I am working on this story again though. I know, it's been 4 years since I've updated it, I'm such a failure, I'm so sorry. Wouldn't it be something if I ever finish it? I've only been working on it for almost 10 years, oh yay! Is shot…

Oh and…just out of curiosity…is anybody out there still that was around when I first posted up this story 9 years ago? I'd love to hear from you. Much RK love from Bunny~~ Muah! xoxo


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